E Liquid as a cognitive enhancer?

[VapeLuxury]

Hi Guys,

I'm new here and wanted to share an article I just wrote about e-liquid as a cognitive enhancer.

Please let me know of your thoughts!

Edited April 8, 2014 by jeffb
Link removed

[Jeffb]

Article reposted here for the convience of our members.

Benefits of Nicotine: Why Non-Smokers Are Turning to E-Cigs

Many people have discussed the advantages of smoking e-cigs versus traditional tobacco cigarettes, and those benefits are numerous, but what about people who are non-smokers? There are reasons for people to consider the clean form of nicotine found in e-cigs. Don’t believe it? Consider these four benefits to nicotine use.

■Nicotine For Better Attention Span

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) is frequently spoken about in terms of how it affects young children, but there are many adults that also find it hard to focus on a task due to wandering thoughts and a tendency to be easily distracted. Did you know that nicotine might be a solution? There have been studies performed in the United States and abroad that suggest regular use of nicotine can provide improved attention span. It is thought that this occurs because there is an enhanced activity level in certain regions of the brain shortly after nicotine enters the system. This translates to enhanced visual attention and motor skills.

In order to prove the correlation, researchers assembled a group of smokers and gave half transdermal nicotine patches, while the other half received placebo patches. Those receiving the nicotine showed better performance on an attention-based skills assessment. It is also thought that the nicotine found in e-liquid could assist the brain in focusing energies into the needed regions, while slowing activity in other areas of the brain, which would reduce the likelihood of being easily distracted.

■Nicotine for Long Term Memory

How many times have you completely forgotten about something you did several years ago, despite friends or family members assuring you that it happened? Long term memory loss is a natural part of aging, but when it begins to fail us at too young of an age, it can be very troubling. Furthermore, the ability to draw on past events and experiences can drastically improve work performance. For that reason, researchers were curious about how nicotine – like that found in e-liquids – would impact this brain function.

As such, a team of Vanderbilt University researchers set out to measure such. Again, they used nicotine patches for half of the participants and placebo patches for the other half and remarked that there were notable differences in memory performance for those who received the nicotine. As for the placebo group, their performance showed regression between testing periods – trial ran for approximately six months — if any change at all, which suggests that nicotine could be a significant help to those who suffer from memory loss. Why? Well, the scientists believe that it stimulates nerve cell receptors in the brain.

■Nicotine As a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease

Seeing that there was improvement in the memory and attention span of average people, a group from Georgetown University reasoned that Alzheimer’s patients could benefit as well. Over a course of six months, a group patients diagnosed with MCI, Mild Cognitive Impairment (a precursor to Alzheimer’s Disease) were assessed. Nicotine patches delivered regular doses, of increasing concentrations, to the patients and it was discovered that those receiving the drug demonstrated nearly fifty percent improvement over the short span of the test. Meanwhile, those in the placebo group showed steady decline of as much as 26%. This study shows great promise for Alzheimer’s patients and their loved ones. The progressive illness can quickly ruin quality of life for those suffering and make it very difficult for loved ones who are forced to act as caregivers.

■Nicotine for Decreased Chance of Diabetes and Obesity

We’ve all heard the old adage that states smokers will gain, on average, ten pounds or more upon quitting their bad habit. Of course, the risk of a little weight gain is hardly comparable to the myriad of illnesses and side effects that come with continued cigarette use.

Because there are those who really need to lose weight for the sake of their health, some are turning to nicotine in e-liquid form. The nicotine activates nerve cells in the hypothalamus causing the release of a hormone known as proopiomelanocortin (or POMC). It’s a big word that hardly has to be memorized, but the important part of the message is that, in releasing the hormone, it causes a massive reduction in hunger. That is to say, nicotine is an appetite-blocker. Thus, when a person quits smoking, he or she will likely see the aforementioned weight gain, but when nicotine is first introduced to a non-tobacco user, there is likely to see a quick drop in rate.

While nicotine is hardly recommended as a weight loss supplement, there is some advantage to using the zero-nicotine e-liquid. The flavor liquids produced and used in e-liquid are really loved by e-cig users and it is possible to get the flavored e-liquid without the nicotine. There are a few advantages; the taste buds are satisfied, the brain is occupied with something other than food during breaks, and the lack of nicotine means that there is no risk of addiction.

With these points made, it is easy to understand why e-cigs and e-liquids are being embraced by a growing segment of the population. It could just be that the clean nicotine found in e-liquid is the answer to many difficult medical question.

Sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1579636

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24457151

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10796667

http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/content/19/9/1990.abstract

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/will-a-nicotine-patch-make-you-smarter-excerpt/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/09/144906236/nicotine-patches-up-early-memory-loss-in-study

http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbiltmedicine/index.html?article=13175

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938405005627

https://gumc.georgetown.edu/news/nicotine-may-slow

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6035/1330

by VapeLuxury

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[wikidbitch]

Great article. I think it's going to take a lot of convincing for the majority to think of nicotine as anything good after the bad name it's gotten from big tobacco. It's still a poison and still addictive but so are a lot of the prescriptions we put into our body every day. Thanks for sharing.

[Scuba-Matt]

Love the article. More ammunition I can use against the anti vape idiots.