piracetam is a glutaminergic drug, not a cholinergic drug.
piracetam affects downstream mechanisms far removed from direct cholinergic stimulation.
since someone is probably curious,
piracetam is a positive allosteric modulator of NMDA receptors (very similar to
nefiracetam, but completely oppositve of huperzine or memantine). essentially,
piracetam increases NMDA receptor density in parts of the brain, specifically the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
the way this affects acetylcholine transmission is by increasing BDNF through two mechanisms (which are beyond the scope of this conversation). the increased BDNF attaches to trkB receptors on cholinergic neurons which further facilitates nerve transduction.
the end result is categorized as long term potentiation (LTP) and/or long term depression (LTD), which is described as better learning capacity.
for those of you still reading (which are probably few), the way you can synergize your supplementation for a nootropic approach would be to supplement with high amounts of L-serine or L-glycine. the L-serine will interact with a few
enzymes,
one of which will invert the stereocenter, converting it to D-serine (which is more responsible for NMDA action than
glycine). a second item would be to add a AMPA modulator such as
Aniracetam. Lastly, ALCAR can be added in to increase
choline retention and recycling (which is more important [and bioavailable] than
straight choline or a
choline analogue).
does piracetam need choline?, question about piracetam
