ArticleBiology of sport2025
"Brain doping" substances: prohibited or not in sports?
Article in Biology of sport, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- [Performance-related substance use in everyday life and work].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Review
- The Role of Nootropic Supplements in Sports: Enhancing Cognitive and Physical Performance Simultaneously.Food science & nutrition · 2026Review
- Therapeutic Peptides in Aesthetic, Metabolic and Endocrine Conditions: Effects, Safety, Clinical Applications, and Future Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Current Evidence of Ergogenic and Post-Exercise Recovery Effects of Dietary Supplementation withNutrients · 2026Review
- Systematic review of undeclared prohibited substances and pharmacological adulterants in dietary supplements: prevalence, detection, and risks in sport.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Poisoning with Thyroid Hormones Used Illegally-Systematic Review.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases and Physical Activity and Sports-More Unknowns than Facts.Biomedicines · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
There is increasing interest in the area of brain doping among athletes. The term 'brain doping' refers to enhancing mental performance through the non-medical use of specific pharmacological substances, such as drugs and medicines. Despite hundreds of studies, it is challenging to specify well-defined and described substances that could contribute to improving cognitive abilities in sports. Therefore, we systematically reviewed existing scientific literature to identify 'brain doping' substances with proven beneficial effects on sports performance. Only 9 research studies, consisting of 7 interventional and 2 case studies, have investigated the current knowledge on substances that have or may affect the brain at the cognitive level in the context of sports. Simultaneously, we reviewed the Polish dietary supplement market to identify active ingredients promoting cognitive functions and examine their properties related to anti-doping rules. Results from the market analysis revealed 34 substances/extracts of plant/mushroom origin and 120 synthetic substances with potential procognitive properties. Among the synthetic substances, 45 were labelled as 'unclear', including 19 presumed to 'meet WADA criteria'. In conclusion, the term 'brain doping' currently serves more as a marketing tool than as a concept describing a group of substances with scientifically proven cognitive effects. Substances marketed to consumers as 'brain doping' include substances prohibited in sports, as mentioned on the WADA Prohibited List, and those permitted for use by athletes or of unclear status. The open-ended nature of the list of prohibited substances poses challenges in definitively determining the status of many substances found in dietary supplements or medications, which may lead to unintentional violations of anti-doping rules.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.