Research Shows Improved Brain Performance With Citicoline

by Market Watch for The Wall Street Journal:Scientists at The Brain Institute at the University of Utah unveil potential cognitive-enhancing effects in healthy adult women.

Healthy, middle-aged women taking supplements of citicoline, a naturally occurring brain health nutrient, saw improved attention, focus and recall, according to a peer-reviewed study conducted by University of Utah scientists. The study was published Wednesday in Food and Nutrition Sciences.

The double blind, placebo-controlled study composed of 60 healthy women between 40 and 60 years of age. After 28 days of citicoline administration, the study participants taking 250 mg indicated improved performance on cognitive function tests, and those taking 500 mg showed improvement and made significantly fewer errors on the tests compared to those in the placebo group.

"Our study findings indicate that citicoline supplementation was associated with improved attention focus and inhibition in a group of healthy female adult volunteers," says Dr. Deborah A. Yurgelun-Todd, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at the U of U School of Medicine and one of the study's authors. "Prior research has shown that citicoline administration improved attention in a variety of patient populations, including those with cognitive deficits associated with illness or injury, but this study included only healthy, middle-aged women."

The study participants were divided into three groups; those taking a 250 mg dose and a 500 mg dose of citicoline under the brand name Cognizin®, and those taking a placebo.

"To our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the effects of low doses of citicoline on cognitive performance in healthy female adults," the authors concluded. "Practical applications of this research include the possible use of citicoline supplementation to improve cognitive deficits associated with normal aging, stress, and psychiatric disorders."