Reddit Placebo Blinded Racetam Study

Well the time has finally come. My curiosity has finally expanded to real world effectiveness, not just pharmacological mechanisms. We are all aware of the countless anecdotes for the various nootropics out there. Many of us have based our decisions on the validity and accuracy of those anecdotes. But how do we know that the effects stated in those anecdotes are due to the racetams and not the placebo effect? How do we even know if the supposed results we are seeing in our own supplement regimen are not due to confirmation bias? We've read the anecdotes. We've read the studies. We know what the effects are supposed to be. Perhaps we are allowing the placebo effect to cloud our judgement, and blur the lines of results and expectations. Can some of us determine which racetam we were given just by the effects? Well now is the time to answer that.

This is going to be the first study in a series. Depending on how well this one goes, perhaps we will expand in the future. LiftMode has expressed interest in a study of the newest nootropics like sunfiram and colouracetam. That will most likely be our second study. This first one is being sponsored by Health Supplement Wholesalers, and will include some of the common racetams that many of you use every day. Exactly which racetams to be used will only be known by myself and a handful of other people. The box from HSW actually just arrived an hour ago. Mmmmmm, racetams.

The study is going to consist of 20 Redditors. Selection of the participants is going to be a little complex, due to the variables that I want to control. Each person that is interested in the study is going to have to give me a summary of how long they have been using racetams, what types they have been using, and how familiar they consider themselves with them. They are also going to have to take all of the free Cambridge Science tests, and send me their results. I will not make public what I am looking for in a participant until after the study has concluded. I want this to be as blinded as I possibly can.

There will be a cost associated with this study. I am donating my time for free, but there will be other costs like capsules, packaging, and shipping. Right now I think it's going to be $20 per person. I am currently ordering the capsules and capsuling equipment that will be used to create the 800 or so capsules needed for the study. I am going to use flavored, non-see-through capsules to mask the ingredients inside. I am also going to use inert masking agents in each of the capsules, as well as for the placebo control. I know that I would be able to tell aniracetam from piracetam just by looking at the capsules, and I assume many of you could as well. I want to avoid any chance that my blinding will not be effective.

It is looking like it will be a 10 day study, with 4 capsules per day taken in two doses. There is no telling which days will be active, and which days will be placebo. There is also no telling how many racetams I will use, or in what dosing schedules I will use them. Each participant will receive a package with individually marked bags corresponding to the days of the trial. They will take two pills from the bag in the morning, then the last two at mid day. They will have a spreadsheet that I have created that will allow them to track not only their subjective opinion of their mood, energy level, anxiety, and focus; but they will also take each of the Cambridge Science assessments every day to objectively test any improvements. I need some opinions on which tests would be best. Perhaps we use all of them, perhaps only a few. It's going to be somewhat time intensive for the participants, so I only want Redditors willing to ensure this study gets good data. There will be no placebo control group. Each person will get a mix of active racetams and placebo. The days are going to be our control group.

Nobody will know which racetams were used, much less what days corresponded to certain ones, until after the study has concluded. I am still on the fence about using choline. Whatever we decide, it must be consistent with each person in the study. There is also going to be a washout period. The participants are going to need to refrain from using any nootropics for at least a week. Then you will take your baseline Cambridge Science tests. If this is not done, our data will not be accurate. We want to control as many variables as possible, so that we do not have anything clouding the data. We want consistent dosing schedules, consistent testing times, and congruency among all the participants. The better prepared we are, the better our data will be.

I am going to need some help from those that are more familiar with statistics. Any volunteers would be appreciated. Anyone familiar with standard testing procedures would be good to speak to as well. I want to make sure I am not missing something that will lead to inconsistent data.

We are going to be looking for acute effects. Each dosing schedule is not going to be long enough to build up the substance. This is by design. We are also going to be testing a bunch of different things. One of which is the accuracy of subjective perception. Do you guys know how to differentiate active from placebo, and can you tell the specific racetam for that day. This is not going to be a completely scientific study, since our sample size is going to be relatively low. However, I believe this study is going to give us some really good data with all the controls we will be implementing. There are a lot of variables, and I hope I have come up with ways to control for them. Anyone that is good with that sort of thing, and wants to be sworn to secrecy about what we are doing until after the study is done, message me and I can get you involved. I want to limit exposure of our methods as much as possible, but I am going to need some help.

Lastly, this study is predicated on trusting me. You will be taking unknown pills that I have measured and capsuled. You will also be sending me money without legal guarantees. If you don't trust me, don't express interest. I have much better things to do than try and scam people for a couple hundred bucks. The time I am going to be investing in this is worth much more than that. I am also not going to poison any of you. I promise! Health Supplement Wholesalers was awesome, and sent out the racetams I requested almost instantly. Thank you to them!

Now, what does everyone think?

p.s. Please be gentle on my inbox.