This might be, for many of you, the first time you’ve heard of Citicoline, yet it’s been a prevalent compound in the brain-hacking or neuro-hacking community for many years. The reason being is that Citicoline is a source of choline, an essential chemical when it comes to maintaining proper brain function. If you, much like many are looking for a compound that can help you protect your brain, support your nerves, and improve your mental health, citicoline deserves your attention. To help you make a smart decision, we’ve put citicoline under our scope and pulled together what the studies say.

What does citicoline do to our body?

Citicoline isn’t a new supplement to the market. In fact, it’s been in use for decades, primarily in Japan, the USA, and Europe. While in the US, it is a dietary supplement, it was once classified as a prescription drug in both Japan and Europe and is a reflection of its potency and effect. Prescribed, typically to patients with memory and brain processing problems and those with imbalanced brain functions. Citicoline naturally occurs in our bodies, and it can be found right there in the nerve cells where it's synthesized. This substance is vital for regular brain function but much like many naturally occurring substances, the levels we produce are far from optimal for modern human function. Once ingested, citicoline goes through several processes, including hydrolysis and dephosphorylation. These turn citicoline into choline and cytidine. Both of which enable nerve cells to resynthesize citicoline and use it to improve their overall function. Citicoline doesn’t only come with neuroprotective properties. It also plays a vital role in transporting dopamine. When you take citicoline, it increases the levels of dopamine released into the brain, a neurotransmitter that plays an essential part in your behaviour and psychological functions.

What do the studies say?

In one study, researchers wanted to examine the effects of citicoline on attention. The findings indicated that citicoline has attention-promoting effects. In fact, the dose of only 250mg of citicoline was able to improve both aspects of attention - attention focus and attention inhibition. Scientists were also interested in examining the effect of citicoline on memory. In this study, the participants were given a dose of 500-1,000mg of citicoline daily. All participants scored significantly better on all the recall tests, including word recall, overall free recall tasks, and immediate and delayed object recall. It appears that citicoline also has positive effects on people with glaucoma and minor visual impairment. The study that confirmed this had 60 subjects. They were given a dose of 1,600 mg of citicoline. The results proved that citicoline improves visual functioning without affecting intraocular pressure. A systematic review and formal meta-analysis of studies confirm that citicoline offers several benefits in treating acute ischemic stroke. Thanks to its neuroprotective properties, the study participants were able to recuperate better and restore normal brain function.  

What can it potentially help with?

Any illness can potentially influence your mental health, especially a chronic one. Citicoline has been shown in several studies to potentially be very effective if you are struggling with:

• Age-related memory problems
• Injury-related memory problems
• The decline in memory and thinking skills
• Blood circulation problems in the brain
• Stroke recovery

According to the Natural Medicine Journal, this powerful brain-health nutrient can potentially help with:

• Focus and attention in healthy adults and teens
• Cognitive function in healthy older adults
• Head injury, stroke, and cognitive disorders
• Amblyopia (lazy eye)

Citicoline also promotes the synthesis of dopamine. Dopamine plays a vital role in maintaining good mental health, and it affects:

• Mood
• Sleep
• Attention
• Motivation
• Learning

Out-of-balance dopamine levels are also related to some mental health disorders, including schizophrenia, ADHD, and Parkinson’s disease.

What does the future bring?

More and more people are interested in citicoline every day. They want to learn whether to or not to include it in their supplementation regimen. At this point, it is safe to assume that we will see more relevant studies in the field in the future. Brain hackers have recognized citicoline as a beneficial nootropic that can help boost memory and attention. With its ability to minimize neural damage and provide support to brain and nerve cells, citicoline is definitely to hold it’s spot as a natural and beneficial compound.

Conclusion

Citicoline is a compound that naturally occurs in our bodies. Citicoline supplementation can help you improve your mental health both directly and indirectly. Studies suggest that it can be used to treat several chronic illnesses and alleviate symptoms associated with them. When you consider all of its benefits, it is clear that citicoline can help you improve both your physical and mental health. As for the future, we will have to wait and see the results of more studies and their meta-analysis to be able to fully understand citicoline and discover all the benefits it has for our mental health.