Cognitive effects of creatine ethyl ester supplementation

Behav Pharmacol. 2009 Dec;20(8):673-9. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0b013e3283323c2a.

Abstract

Supplementation with creatine-based substances as a means of enhancing athletic performance has become widespread. Until recently, however, the effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive performance has been given little attention. This study used a new form of creatine--creatine ethyl ester--to investigate whether supplementation would improve performance in five cognitive tasks, using a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Creatine dosing led to an improvement over the placebo condition on several measures. Although creatine seems to facilitate cognition on some tasks, these results require replication using objective measures of compliance. The improvement is discussed in the context of research examining the influence of brain energy capacity on cognitive performance.

Publication types

  • Controlled Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Attention / drug effects
  • Cognition / drug effects*
  • Creatine / administration & dosage
  • Creatine / analogs & derivatives*
  • Creatine / pharmacology
  • Dietary Supplements*
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intelligence / drug effects
  • Male
  • Memory / drug effects
  • Neuromuscular Diseases / drug therapy
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Nootropic Agents / administration & dosage*
  • Nootropic Agents / pharmacology
  • Psychomotor Performance / drug effects
  • Reaction Time / drug effects
  • Task Performance and Analysis
  • Time Factors
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Nootropic Agents
  • creatine ethyl ester
  • Creatine