Get ahead in Silicon Valley: take nootropic brain drugs

Some in Silicon Valley claim that a combination of supplements, over-the-counter medications and other chemicals taken together can improve cognitive function

• Upgrade your mind with a brain stimulator
• Upgrade your diet with meals in a beaker

Jesper Noehr, 30, reels off the ingredients in the chemical cocktail he's been taking every day before work for the past six months. It's a mixture of exotic dietary supplements and research chemicals that he says gives him an edge in his job without ill effects: better memory, more clarity and focus and enhanced problem-solving abilities. "I can keep a lot of things on my mind at once," says Noehr, who is chief technology officer for a San Francisco startup.

The chemicals he takes, dubbed nootropics from the Greek "noos" for "mind", are intended to safely improve cognitive functioning. They must not be harmful, have significant side-effects or be addictive. That means well-known "smart drugs" such as the prescription-only stimulants Adderall and Ritalin, popular with swotting university students, are out. What's left under the nootropic umbrella is a dizzying array of over-the-counter supplements, prescription drugs and unclassified research chemicals, some of which are being trialled in older people with fading cognition.