Circadian rhythm: nootropics and compounds | sci-wiki

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone best known as the body's circadian signal for darkness, produced by the pineal gland to help govern the sleep-wake cycle; taken as a supplement it can shorten the time to fall asleep and is particularly useful for jet lag and shifted schedules. Less familiar is its other identity: melatonin is synthesized inside the mitochondria of virtually every cell, with under five percent of the body's total coming from the pineal gland, and there it acts as a potent, amphiphilic antioxidant whose own breakdown products are also radical scavengers, giving it a cascade effect. It is thought to be one of the oldest antioxidants in biology, predating its later role as a sleep and circadian signal, and it is generally regarded as safe and non-habit-forming for most adults.

4 outlets

Neurosteroid

Androsterone

Androsterone (3α-hydroxy-5α-androstan-17-one) is an endogenous androstane neurosteroid (a steroid synthesized or acting within the nervous system) and a peripheral metabolite of testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone. Like its pregnane counterpart allopregnanolone, it acts as a positive allosteric modulator (an agent that enhances a receptor's response to its natural transmitter) of the GABA-A receptor (the brain's principal inhibitory ion channel), producing barbiturate-like potentiation of inhibitory neurotransmission. In rodent studies it raises seizure threshold across multiple models and is regarded as an endogenous modulator of neuronal excitability; because native androsterone is rapidly conjugated and orally poorly available, a prodrug (an inactive precursor that converts to the active drug in the body) has been investigated for epilepsy.

reference

Peptide

Davunetide

Davunetide (NAP; NAPVSIPQ) is an eight-amino-acid peptide derived from activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) that stabilizes microtubules and reduces tau pathology, and has been evaluated clinically as an intranasal neuroprotective agent [1][2]. Although early studies suggested cognitive benefit in amnestic mild cognitive impairment and functional improvement in schizophrenia, a large phase 2/3 trial in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) found no clinical efficacy [1][3].

reference