| There have been a number of studies done with choline supplements in a variety forms. Here is a list of citations http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=e049880... None of these listed have found the rebound side effects. I am not saying that you couldn't cause yourself problems at a high enough dosage, but in the dosages used in the studies it's not mentioned as a side effect. This is not true for acetylcholinterase inhibitors (things like huperzine, arricept, galantamine,...) which can cause a significant excess of acetylcholine because they inhibit the down regulation process. You are correct that I was speculating what might cause "programmer burnout." I agree with you that there are people who believe in "mental performance enhancing drugs" but I am not one of them. I do think that folks with ADD may be able to take substances that limit their ADD and I think that you can take things as you age to limit the effect of age related cognitive decline, but I don't think you can "supercharge" someone in their teens or twenties. One of the great discoveries of the last decade has been that we continue to add new brain cells (at a much lower rate than in early childhood) all of our lives and that lifelong learning and stimulation does in fact encourage the formation of new connections and delay the onset of diseases like Alzheimers. Our brains are plastic and respond to how they are used. In that sense my answer to the original question of "how to build mental muscles" is: I don't know of any drugs but I do believe that mental exercise helps. |