Cognitive research
Nootropics, anxiolytics, and restorative sleep. Below is the published literature for each compound in this area — 89 studies in total, 30 of them published since 2023, every one linked to its source record.
- CognitivePreclinical only
DSIP
Delta sleep-inducing peptide is a nonapeptide (Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu) isolated in 1977 from cerebral venous blood of sleep-induced rabbits. Despite five decades of study, no DSIP gene, precursor protein or receptor has been identified, and the peptide's status as an endogenous sleep factor remains contested. Human work is concentrated in the 1980s and early 1990s and includes small double-blind studies in insomnia, chronic pain and opioid withdrawal with inconsistent results; recent research is almost entirely rodent work on stroke, stress and drug-delivery constructs.
- Studies
- 17
- Since 2023
- 1
- Newest
- 2024
- CognitiveClinical
Oxytocin
Oxytocin is a nine-amino-acid neuropeptide synthesised in the hypothalamus, with intranasal administration used since the mid-2000s as a research tool for probing social cognition, threat processing and affiliative behaviour in humans. The field is unusually large and unusually contested: early small-sample findings of enhanced trust, emotion recognition and amygdala modulation have been followed by large registered trials and preregistered meta-analyses showing small, heterogeneous and frequently null effects. Current syntheses point to sex-dependent amygdala modulation, a thalamus-striatum-insula circuit as the most reproducible neural signature, and a small significant signal in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Intranasal delivery to the brain, dose-response and the appropriate outcome measures all remain methodologically unresolved.
- Studies
- 21
- Since 2023
- 16
- Newest
- 2026
- CognitivePreclinical only
Pinealon
Pinealon is the synthetic tripeptide Glu-Asp-Arg (EDR), one of the short peptide bioregulators developed by Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. The proposed mechanism is epigenetic: the peptide is described as entering the nucleus and binding specific DNA sequences and histone proteins, thereby modulating expression of genes involved in apoptosis, antioxidant defence and neuroplasticity. The available evidence is almost entirely in vitro or rodent work from this single research group, supplemented by molecular-modelling studies; controlled human data are limited to small Russian occupational and geriatric studies of peptide combinations rather than EDR alone.
- Studies
- 18
- Since 2023
- 3
- Newest
- 2024
- CognitiveEarly clinical
Selank
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro) derived from the immunomodulatory tetrapeptide tuftsin, developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. Proposed mechanisms include inhibition of enkephalin-degrading enzymes, allosteric modulation of GABA-A receptor signalling, and regulation of BDNF and inflammation-related gene expression. Human data consist of a small number of Russian comparative trials in generalised anxiety disorder and neurasthenia, plus one placebo-controlled resting-state fMRI study in healthy volunteers. Almost the entire literature originates from a small group of Russian laboratories, and independent Western replication is absent.
- Studies
- 15
- Since 2023
- 0
- Newest
- 2022
- CognitiveApproved drug
Semax
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide, Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, consisting of the ACTH(4-7) fragment extended with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide that confers resistance to enzymatic degradation. It lacks corticotropic activity and is registered in Russia for ischaemic stroke, optic nerve disease and cognitive indications. Its best-characterised actions are regulation of BDNF and NGF expression and broad transcriptomic modulation of inflammatory and neurosignalling genes in rodent cerebral ischaemia models. Human evidence is dominated by Russian clinical studies of stroke and optic neuropathy, with two small placebo-controlled fMRI studies in healthy volunteers; no regulatory-grade Western trial exists.
- Studies
- 18
- Since 2023
- 10
- Newest
- 2025
Latest published research
A systematic review and meta-analysis of oxytocin modulation of amygdala responses to emotional stimuli and implications for anxiolytic effects
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews · meta-analysis of 55 neuroimaging studies, 3337 participants
PubMed · 41946420Does intranasal oxytocin reduce symptoms of mental disorders? A meta-analysis of clinical trials
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews · meta-analysis of 42 double-blind randomised controlled trials, pooled N=1922
PubMed · 42134427Effects of exogenous oxytocin on human brain function are regulated by oxytocin gene expression: A meta-analysis of 20 years of oxytocin neuroimaging and transcriptomic analyses
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews · neuroimaging meta-analysis and transcriptomic analysis across 75 task-fMRI experiments, n=2247
PubMed · 41260504Intranasal Oxytocin and Physical Intimacy for Dermatological Wound Healing and Neuroendocrine Stress: A Randomized Clinical Trial
JAMA Psychiatry · double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial, 80 heterosexual couples (N=160, mean age 27.6), 7 days twice-daily oxytocin or placebo with suction-blister wounds and 5-day ecological momentary assessment
PubMed · 41222549Intranasal Oxytocin for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Multisite Trial Assessing Efficacy and Safety
Alcohol, Clinical & Experimental Research · 12-week double-blind placebo-controlled multisite trial, n=100 with alcohol use disorder, up to 70 IU/day intranasal oxytocin
PubMed · 42458234Intranasal oxytocin for alcohol use disorder: A systematic review and multilevel, bayesian, and variance meta-analyses of randomized clinical trial data
Psychoneuroendocrinology · systematic review with multilevel, Bayesian and variance meta-analyses of randomised clinical trial data in alcohol use disorder
PubMed · 42335670Post-encoding administration of oxytocin selectively enhances memory consolidation of male faces in females
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · three preregistered randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trials, total N=445 (227 male, 218 female), oxytocin given post-encoding, pre-retrieval or pre-encoding
PubMed · 41557801Using EEG to Measure the Neural Effects of Oxytocin Administration: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review
Psychophysiology · systematic review and meta-analysis of EEG studies of oxytocin administration
PubMed · 42268581
For research purposes only. Not for human consumption, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of any condition. Nothing on this page is medical advice.