Piracetam is a cyclic GABA derivative synthesised at UCB in Belgium in 1964, the compound for which the word nootropic was coined.
Amounts reported for Piracetam are listed under Reported protocols, each with its source and study kind. No amount ladder is inferred from them. This is educational source context, not a protocol or recommendation.
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Human study rows are described per source under Reported protocols; they belong to their trial populations and are not a general amount.
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What published studies and recent community write-ups report about amounts, timing and course length. 3 clinical, 2 preclinical and 3 community-reported rows, each linked to its source. These are descriptions of what others report, not instructions, and nothing here is medical advice.
| Context | Dose | Frequency | Route | Course | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical3 rows | |||||
| UK licence for cortical myoclonus (Nootropil SmPC)Adults with myoclonus of cortical origin, used alongside other anti-myoclonic drugs | 7.2 g per day to start, increased by 4.8 g every 3-4 days up to a maximum of 24 g per day | Daily total split into 2-3 doses | Oral tablets (800 mg or 1200 mg), with or without food | Continued for as long as the underlying brain disease persists, with an attempt every 6 months to reduce or stopNever stopped abruptly; the dose is reduced by 1.2 g every 2 days to avoid relapse or withdrawal seizures | electronic medicines compendium (emc), ADVANZ Pharma2025 |
| This is the only indication on the UK label, which was last revised in July 2025. The label requires dose reduction by kidney function, forbids use in severe renal impairment, cerebral haemorrhage and Huntington's chorea, warns about reduced platelet aggregation and bleeding risk, and reports a plasma half-life of 5 hours with roughly 90 percent of a dose excreted unchanged in urine. Hyperkinesia, somnolence, nervousness and depression were more frequent than placebo at trial doses of 1.6-15 g a day. | |||||
| Dose-ranging crossover trial in progressive myoclonus epilepsy20 patients aged 17-43 with Unverricht-Lundborg disease | 9.6 g, 16.8 g or 24 g per day | Two divided doses | Oral | Each regimen for 2 weeks, 6 weeks of treatment in totalNo washout between crossover phases | Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (PubMed)1998 |
| Only the 24 g a day arm improved the primary myoclonus sum score significantly against placebo, the dose-effect relationship was linear, and adverse effects were described as few, mild and transient. The study is the main evidence behind the high-dose licence for cortical myoclonus and says nothing about healthy adults. | |||||
| National label for dizziness and childhood dyslexia (Biotropil SmPC)Adults with dizziness of central or peripheral origin; children aged 8-13 with dyslexia receiving speech therapy | 2.4 g per day for dizziness (three 0.8 g doses); 3.2 g per day for dyslexia in children | Three divided doses (dizziness) or two divided doses (dyslexia) | Oral film-coated tablets | 8 weeks for dizzinessNot stated for these indications | Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority2023 |
| This summary of product characteristics for a Polish-made 1200 mg tablet is hosted by the Ethiopian regulator and shows the broader indications that some national labels carry. Its non-clinical section records no irreversible toxicity after single doses of 10 g/kg in mice, rats and dogs, and no organ toxicity in chronic studies at up to 4.8 g/kg per day in mice. These are licensed uses in specific countries, not evidence for cognitive enhancement in healthy people. | |||||
| Preclinical2 rows | |||||
| Mitochondrial function in aged mice and PC12 cellsYoung and aged mice; PC12 cells under oxidative stress | 100-500 mg/kg per day in mice; 100-1000 micromolar in cell culture | Daily | Systemic treatment of mice; direct addition to culture medium | Repeated treatment, duration as per each experimentNot applicable | British Journal of Pharmacology (PubMed)2006 |
| Piracetam improved mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production after oxidative stress in cells and in brain cells taken from treated mice, with the benefit seen mainly in aged animals and little in young ones. The authors propose mitochondrial stabilisation as the mechanism behind effects in elderly patients. Rodent milligram-per-kilogram figures do not translate to a human dose. | |||||
| Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion model in ratsRats with 30 days of bilateral common carotid artery occlusion | 600 mg/kg | Once daily | Oral | 30 daysNot applicable | Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology (PubMed)2008 |
| Daily oral piracetam reduced the spatial learning and memory deficits, raised hippocampal amino acid content and limited neuronal damage in this vascular dementia model. The dose is about a hundred times the per-kilogram amount a person would take at 4.8 g a day, which is typical of rodent racetam studies. | |||||
| Community-reported3 rows | |||||
| Community protocol with attack dose and choline pairing | 1.6 g three times a day (4.8 g per day); attack phase of 4.8 g twice a day (9.6 g per day) for the first 3-7 days | Three times daily, morning, midday and mid-afternoon | Oral powder or capsules, paired with alpha-GPC or CDP-choline | 4-12 weeks on2-4 week washout after each block | Community resource2026 |
| This 2026 guide calls 1.6 g three times a day the canonical protocol, describes an attack dose to shorten a 1-2 week onset lag, and lists cycles from 6-12 weeks down to a quarterly 2-week washout for continuous use. None of these schedules comes from a trial in healthy adults; the attack dose in particular is community practice, not a label instruction. | |||||
| Nootropic blog dosing recommendation | 1,600 mg three times a day; an attack dose of about 3,000 mg three times a day for the first 3 days; up to 9,600 mg a day described as a ceiling | Three times daily | Oral | Ongoing daily use describedNot specified | Community resource2026 |
| A widely read supplement blog, republished in April 2026, recommends 1,600 mg three times a day and summarises a 14-day study in healthy volunteers at 4,800 mg a day in which verbal learning improved only after 14 days, not 7. Its claim that piracetam is completely non-toxic even at high doses is the author's framing, not a regulatory finding; the UK label lists bleeding risk and renal dose adjustment. | |||||
| Vendor research-use listing | 600 mg per capsule | Not stated (sold for laboratory research only) | Oral capsule format | Not statedNot stated | Community resource2026 |
| Vendor claim. The vendor sells piracetam as 600 mg capsules with a third-party certificate of analysis for lot PIR01 (HPLC purity 99.36 percent, measured 636.04 mg per capsule). The page gives no dosing information and states the product is not for human consumption. | |||||
Community guides describe an optional attack phase of up to 9.6 g a day split in two, paired with a choline source, to compress the one-to-two-week onset lag that users report. This loading pattern has never been tested in a trial of healthy adults.
The maintenance pattern most often quoted is 1.6 g three times a day, with the last dose before late afternoon to avoid insomnia, run for 4-12 weeks. The one healthy-volunteer study the blogs cite needed 14 days at 4.8 g a day before verbal learning changed.
Licensed use looks different: cortical myoclonus starts at 7.2 g a day and climbs to 24 g, continues as long as the disease does, and is tapered by 1.2 g every two days rather than stopped. The dizziness label runs 2.4 g a day for 8 weeks.
Plus 3 community resources (dosing guides, forum threads and vendor write-ups), reported above but not linked.
Piracetam is a cyclic GABA derivative synthesised at UCB in Belgium in 1964, the compound for which the word nootropic was coined. It is a licensed prescription medicine in the United Kingdom and much of Europe, where the only UK indication is cortical myoclonus at doses that reach 24 g a day, while other national labels also cover dizziness and childhood dyslexia. Cochrane reviews found no convincing benefit in dementia or acute stroke, and a 2024 meta-analysis of 18 trials could not confirm an effect on memory, so the 1.6-4.8 g a day used by healthy adults rests on habit rather than evidence.
These themes describe recurring questions in published research. They are not claims of effectiveness or recommendations for use.
Neuroplasticity, cognition, stress and sleep models.
This is the only indication on the UK label, which was last revised in July 2025. The label requires dose reduction by kidney function, forbids use in severe renal impairment, cerebral haemorrhage and Huntington's.
Only the 24 g a day arm improved the primary myoclonus sum score significantly against placebo, the dose-effect relationship was linear, and adverse effects were described as few, mild and transient. The study is the.
This summary of product characteristics for a Polish-made 1200 mg tablet is hosted by the Ethiopian regulator and shows the broader indications that some national labels carry. Its non-clinical section records no.
Piracetam improved mitochondrial membrane potential and ATP production after oxidative stress in cells and in brain cells taken from treated mice, with the benefit seen mainly in aged animals and little in young ones..
Daily oral piracetam reduced the spatial learning and memory deficits, raised hippocampal amino acid content and limited neuronal damage in this vascular dementia model. The dose is about a hundred times the.
Study models remain visible so laboratory and animal findings are not mistaken for established human outcomes.
3 protocol rows on this page come from human trials, trial registrations, regulator labels or reviews of human data. Approval status and populations are stated per row.
2 protocol rows describe animal, cell or toxicology work. Amounts from these rows do not translate to people.
3 rows record what blogs, vendor write-ups or forums describe for Piracetam. None has been verified against primary literature.
Sequence, synonyms and registry identifiers as recorded in PubChem, the National Library of Medicine's open chemistry database. Formula, mass and CAS number are summarized at the top of the page.
Nootropil, Nootropyl, 2-Oxo-1-pyrrolidineacetamide, UCB6215, Cl-871, Myocalm, Normabrain, UNII ZH516LNZ10
GMZVRMREEHBGGF-UHFFFAOYSA-N
2-(2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)acetamide
8 curated references, each with its journal, year and study model, plus 3 community resources reported but not linked.