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Piracetam and Oxiracetam are both Nootropics that people take to improve their cognitive abilities.
They each have great volumes of scientific research and clinical trials behind them. Not only that, but many user reviews and experiences attest to their effectiveness.
But which of the two is best: Piracetam vs Oxiracetam? While many of the benefits you will achieve from using these compounds are similar, there are some central areas where these two Racetams are quite different.
In order to decide which is the best Racetam, is vital to understand what each of these nootropics is, how they are believed to work in the body, and what kinds of benefits are most commonly attributed to Piracetam and Oxiracetam.
Memory
Attention
Brain Health- Promotes neuron health & synaptic plasticity
- Supports memory recall & learning
- Boosts focus, visual perception & attention
What Is Piracetam?
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Piracetam was the first Nootropic compound developed.
It has actually been around since the early 1960’s and was discovered by Dr. Giurgea of the pharmaceutical company UCB in Belgium.
As you might expect due to this long history, it has become the most studied of all the Nootropic agents. Piracetam is also the parent compound that all other Racetams have been based off of.
It is also among the cheapest, which can make it very accessible to new nootropic users. For this reason, Piracetam is the best-selling of all the racetam family members and it the compound that most new users will take when they are first beginning to learn about nootropics and nootropic stacks.
What Is Oxiracetam?
Oxiracetam is a water soluble Nootropic agent that was actually modeled after Piracetam. It is very easy to use Oxiracetam powder as it will mix well with either water or juice and it also is available in capsule form.
Unlike Piracetam, which has a less specific range of effects (especially upon sensory perceptions), Oxiracetam is considered to be more of a “pure” Nootropic. Oxiracetam was designed for the individual who only wants cognitive enhancement effects from a Nootropic and is not interested in some of the other recreational properties of Racetams.
Alertness Memory
Cognitive Function- Heightens focus, alertness & perception
- Promotes analytical thinking & memory
- Boosts energy & reduces mental fatigue
How Does Piracetam Work?
Generally considered to be the best Nootropic for your first time using brain enhancers, Piracetam is believed to work by increasing the amount of several powerful brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. These substances are Acetylcholine and Glutamate. Greater Acetylcholine levels are associated with improved memory formation and recall, hence why taking Piracetam is associated with these effects.
Piracetam is a also a positive allosteric modulator of the receptors for these neurotransmitters in your brain. Once Piracetam reaches your nerve synapses, it actually binds to the receptor sites which helps to facilitate the stimulation of certain types of brain activity.
Some researchers have posited that Piracetam also works by changing the calcium and sodium channels within the brain. In other words, it helps to increase the transportation of these two minerals within your neurons. The balance of these two chemicals in your brain cells is especially important for transmitting electric current which facilitates communication between neurons.
When these nutrients are at the proper levels, your brain has a greater resting potential for neural activity which means transmissions occur faster and with less stimulation. This would explain the increased communication between both hemispheres of the brain and overall enhanced cognitive functioning that occurs when taking Piracetam tablets or powder.
How Does Oxiracetam Work?
Oxiracetam follows similar pathways for affecting the brain as Piracetam.
Although the exact mechanism of action with this nootropic is not fully understood, the predominant theory it is that it stimulates the cholinergic and glutamatergic systems.
This similarity in mechanism of action is why Oxiracetam has many of the same Nootropic-oriented effects and benefits as Piracetam.
However Oxiracetam has been found to be better at crossing the blood-brain barrier and increasing the supply and effectiveness of Acetylcholine and Glutamate to a greater degree. By heightening the power of these neurochemicals, Oxiracetam is thought to improve synaptic plasticity and intelligent reasoning abilities.
Benefits Of Piracetam
One of the first Piracetam benefits that many users experience is an increase in sensory perceptions. This does affect different people in different ways, but most commonly involves sight and sound.
Piracetam may make you more aware of small changes in your perceptual fields by increasing your sentiency and making it easier for your brain to perform visual and auditory comparisons subconsciously. You may experience this as having a sense of colors being brighter or sounds deeper and more full.
There are of course a number of Piracetam effects related to cognition. For example, many users will see an increase in learning and memory. Indeed, enhanced working memory is likely to be the best benefit experienced. You may find that you are naturally able to hold more information in your mind in the short-term and your brain is able to form connections with greater ease.
Both Acetylcholine and Glutamate help to influence this, although sometimes the changes noticed can be very slight (but may become more pronounced over time). In fact, you may want to track your progress with an object brain game program to measure exactly how your memory is improving with time.
Mental energy is also often enhanced due to improved processing and supply of glucose to the brain. This leads to a higher level of focus, concentration, and attention. You may experience less fatigue when working for long hours a day and you will feel significantly less “brain fog” as time goes by. For some people these effects can also serve to help improve their level of motivation, even when performing common tasks.
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Benefits Of Oxiracetam
Oxiracetam actually offers users most of the same benefits as Piracetam. However, users are not likely to see any enhanced sensory perception (although some individuals report they do). As a “pure” Nootropic, many users not only experience enhanced memory, but improved speed of memory recall, and better spatial and contextual learning.
Users say it also helps to improve attentiveness, focus, and motivation. Oxiracetam is considered the best Racetam for studying – especially in any math or science related disciplines. It is quite effective at improving logical thinking, problem solving, and computation-related abilities.
As is also true for Piracetam, Oxiracetam has been studied for it use in the treatment of degenerative conditions including dementia, autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia. It is also thought to be effective in repairing damage done by excessive alcohol consumption.
There is some evidence to suggest that Oxiracetam may act as an antioxidant, capable of removing toxins and waste products from the brain. In this sense, Oxiracetam may offer brain health benefits and it could be useful as a general cognitive anti-aging compound.
Which Should You Buy: Oxiracetam vs. Piracetam
It should be noted that in the United States, Piracetam and Oxiracetam are both unscheduled, unregulated compounds. As the parent compound of the Racetam family, Piracetam has been used for many years around the world as either a prescription or over-the-counter drug.
However in the US, the FDA has not approved Piracetam or Oxiractam as drugs to prevent or treat any conditions. They also do not meet the qualifications of a dietary supplement, and cannot be sold or labeled as such.
It is legal to buy, own, and use Racetams in the US though. However due to FDA regulations surrounding the distribution, sale, and labeling of unregulated compounds such as these, there are not many vendors within the US that still sell them.
Some online specialized nootropic stores based in the US stock Racetams, however the number of these stores is limited. If they can’t get what they want from domestic stores then many users will instead import their nootropics from countries where the sale of racetams is legal.
Ultimately, the decision of whether to buy Piracetam or Oxiracetam is personal. If you are looking to achieve increases in sensory perceptions along with cognitive enhancements, then Piracetam is probably the better choice. Oxiracetam is a great choice if you are learning really technical new material or want to improve your critical analysis skills.
Another thing to consider is that Oxiracetam is much more potent than Piracetam, which also argues in favor of a new users beginning with Piracetam and then later deciding if they want to switch to something more powerful.
If you are torn between the two, a third option is always to use a Piracetam Oxiracetam Stack. Some people even stack Piracetam and Oxiracetam with Aniracetam so they also gain some of the mood enhancement benefits of Aniracetam.
It is recommended that you try out each of these compounds separately first to determine if they are right for your physiology and needs. Side effects from either are rare and those that do occur are mild, but it will be easier to tell which compound could be giving you issues if you test them separately before stacking them.
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Article last updated on: March 13th, 2018 by Nootriment
2 Comments
I tried the other race tams – ani and oxy, but I need creativity boosting for writing and nothing besides piracetam seems to work for that. Is this correct?
The ani just kind of dulled me out. Did I not use it correctly?
As an actor which racetam would be best suited to memorising lines and “being in the moment” without looking zoned out ? Pira or Oxy ?