L-TYROSINE
Intro
L-tyrosine is an amino acid that is used by the brain to synthesize essential performance enhancing neurotransmitters. It is a unique nootropic that helps you boost and maintain cognitive performance even under stress.
Mechanism
How L-tyrosine helps in neurotransmitter production?
L-Tyrosine is a precursor to the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is used to control movement in your body and is fundamental to memory, attention and problem solving.
The unused dopamine can then convert into the neurotransmitters - norepinephrine and adrenaline.
Norepinephrine is important for attentiveness, emotions, sleeping, dreaming, and learning.
Adrenaline drives your ‘fight-or-flight’ response. It’s what prompts your reaction to dangerous circumstances, emergency situations, or in stressful situations or environments.
Research
Evidence supporting L-tyrosine’s brain fueling abilities
L-Tyrosine helps boost cognitive performance under stress: A study done at the University of Bedfordshire in the UK, measure cognitive performance in athletes before, during and after a physically stressful soccer drill in a high temperature environment. The results showed that L-tyrosine enhanced cognitive function and prevented cognitive decline even when the athletes were exposed to exercise-heat stress.
L-Tyrosine boosts brain performance: In one study done in the Netherlands, researchers determined if L-Tyrosine would boost cognitive performance. They performed tests designed to measure working memory using the N-Back test. The researchers concluded that L-Tyrosine provides greater cognitive enhancement when cognitive demand increases. The bottom-line is supplementation of L-Tyrosine can help you increase your IQ score.
L-Tyrosine boosts cognitive flexibility: In a 2015 study, all participants were assigned a task switching procedure to measure their cognitive flexibility. The results showed that the subjects who received L-Tyrosine supplements increased cognitive flexibility compared to the placebo group. The researchers determined that increased cognitive flexibility was likely due to a boost in dopamine levels. They noted that L-Tyrosine enhanced usage of various cognitive abilities.
L-Tyrosine is a powerful nootropic that gives your brain that extra ‘juice’ when needed.
References
- Coull N.A., Watkins S.L., Aldous J.W., Warren L.K., Chrismas B.C., Dascombe B., Mauger A.R., Abt G., Taylor L. “Effect of tyrosine ingestion on cognitive and physical performance utilising an intermittent soccer performance test (iSPT) in a warm environment.” European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2015 Feb;115(2):373-86
- Colzato L.S., Jongkees B.J., Sellaro R., Hommel B. “Working memory reloaded: tyrosine repletes updating in the N-back task.”Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. 2013 Dec 16;7:200.
- Steenbergen L., Sellaro R., Hommel B., Colzato L.S. “Tyrosine promotes cognitive flexibility: evidence from proactive vs. reactive control during task switching performance.” Neuropsychologia. 2015 Mar;69:50-5
