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New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

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Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#131

Post by aantix »

lumpypua wrote: post #117
aantix wrote: post #13

I've been taking 400mg of Magnesium Glycinate two times a day along with 200mg of Theanine (also twice a day) with my usual two cups of coffee. I feel fantastically focused without the jittery edge that accompanies caffeine alone.

You might find this interesting wrt magnesium supplementation: https://www.gwern.net/Nootropics#magnesium Beyond that, I wouldn't be surprised if the glycine along with the magnesium had neuro-inhibitory effect. Supplementation with gelatin might be worth trying for you. https://www.google.com/search?q=glycine%20in%20gelatin I put collagen hydrolysate in my coffee and I think it's pretty great.

>glycine along with the magnesium had neuro-inhibitory effect

Why is that?

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#132

Post by mi100hael »

hvidgaard wrote: post #118
taneq wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're suggesting there's something analagous to the Ballmer Peak but for pot?

Jokes aside, alcohol and, pot it seems, inhibit the brains ability to process complex things. This mean you're more likely to abandon ideas that are too complex to handle anyway, and thus cover more ideas that you can handle.

I disagree. From my own experience, my chess game (or programming or other tasks involving concentration) suffer after even a single drink. My brain abandons complex ideas that it would normally be able to handle given some time and concentration.

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#134

Post by Nomentatus »

the_watcher wrote: post #39

The title is somewhat misleading - I assumed they discovered a new type of drug that was enhancing performance. Actually, it's just the first study to actually bear out the (not particularly shocking) conclusion that drugs that enhance cognitive performance help in a game that depends on cognitive performance.

The researchers were surprised - it's been assumed that these drugs compensated for exhaustion and illness and restored a status quo; maybe this is an example of the proven fact that experts underperform laypeople when evaluating novel situations that only border on their expertise.

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#135

Post by Nomentatus »

kuerbel wrote: post #119

The only actual performance-enhancing drug I know of is creatine ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine_supplements#Cognitive... ) I'm a vegetarian, and since ~8 months I take creatine daily. I wonder why it has this effect on vegetarians and vegans...

I take it, for the healing effect. I can't say I notice any effect on my brain. But I can always double up on it! Creatine moves energy around in the body and is found in all animals, but in no vegetables. Plants don't need it. It gives your brain (etc, etc) more available energy than doesn't require oxygen to use - it's an ATP transporter. With creatine, you skin and muscles can help you think, by doing the hard work of supplying energy.

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#136

Post by lumpypua »

aantix wrote: post #131
lumpypua wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might find this interesting wrt magnesium supplementation: https://www.gwern.net/Nootropics#magnesium Beyond that, I wouldn't be surprised if the glycine along with the magnesium had neuro-inhibitory effect. Supplementation with gelatin might be worth trying for you. https://www.google.com/search?q=glycine%20in%20gelatin I put collagen hydrolysate in my coffee and I think it's pretty great.

>glycine along with the magnesium had neuro-inhibitory effect Why is that?

I did't mean anything special about it in conjunction with magnesium, just that glycine itself is inhibitory:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycine#As_a_neurotransmitter

> Glycine accomplishes several functions as a transmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). As an inhibitory neurotransmitter, it participates in the processing of motor and sensory information that permits movement, vision, and audition. This action of glycine is mediated by the strychnine-sensitive glycine receptor, whose activation produces inhibitory post-synaptic potentials. In some areas of the CNS, glycine seems to be co-released with GABA, the main inhibitory amino acid neurotransmitter. In addition, glycine modulates excitatory neurotransmission by potentiating the action of glutamate at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11396606

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#137

Post by LifeQuestioner »

This is JOKES. I have ADHD - I find that ritalin REDUCES my chess abilities! Not by a small amount either, by loads!!! How do I know this? Because on chess.com my scores start rapidly decreasing, it takes me too long to make a move, I'm overthinking my moves too much, trying to find ONE move rather than my adhd brain letting me find 5 moves simultaneously. It took me a long time to realise this was happening! And actually other drugs can make me better - but definitely not anything stimulant based.

My point is - this study is not scientifically rigourous and it is not enough to draw conclusions.

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#138

Post by bjourne »

yarou wrote: post #36

Anecdotally, Modafinil improved the functioning of the right hemisphere of my brain. I noticed this type of enhancement with Phenibut as well, my "emotional intelligence" was increased by one or two orders of magnitude. On the other hand, Adderall increased my raw intelligence by several orders of magnitude. I strongly believe that amphetamines should be decriminalized and unscheduled, as they are the only class of p…

> I noticed this type of enhancement with Phenibut as well, my "emotional intelligence" was increased by one or two orders of magnitude.

(Jokingly) So Phenibut would be the party drug of choice for people with Aspergers? I want to know why you think that that drug increased your EQ that much. One to two orders is 10 to 100 times which is an incredibly strong effect.

Edit: I see in the sibling comment that you didn't actually mean orders of magnitudes of improvement. Still want to know how Phenibut increased your EQ.

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#139

Post by pmoriarty »

guelo wrote: post #91
aantix wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pretty sure that I initially heard about them through Tim Ferriss's podcast with Charles Poliquin (a world renown strength coach). He talked about them when outlining his sleep routine. http://tim.blog/2016/11/06/charles-poliquin-mass-building-pr... (you will sleep like a rock with a large dose of Magnesium Glycinate, especially if you've been deficient for a while (most coffee/soda/alcohol drinkers are))

I've always shied away from magnesium because of the laxative properties. Have you not experienced that with the glycate form?

There's another way to get magnesium that doesn't involve the digestive tract, avoiding any laxative effect. Epsom salt baths. Magnesium is well absorbed through the skin this way, and the digestive tract is not involved.

Re: New Study Finds Performance-Enhancing Drugs for Chess

#140

Post by pmoriarty »

kuerbel wrote: post #119

The only actual performance-enhancing drug I know of is creatine ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creatine_supplements#Cognitive... ) I'm a vegetarian, and since ~8 months I take creatine daily. I wonder why it has this effect on vegetarians and vegans...

I got calcium oxalate kidney stones after taking creatine. Worst pain in my life, by far. Had to go to the emergency room. I'll spare you the details except to say it was not a fun time. After I stopped taking creatine, I stopped getting kidney stones.
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