To prejudge other men's notions before we have looked into them is not to show the darkness but to put out our own eyes. Locke We live, fitting the Chinese curse, in interesting times. Many baby boomers are experiencing insidious aging-related brain changes that will result in objectively verifiable neuropsychological deficits before they die. They may meet the criteria for age-associated memory impairment, minimal cognitive impairment, something less definite or something more dire. The sheer demographics of aging, combined with improved control of heart disease, strokes and cancers, are responsible for this rising tide of subtle memory loss or overt dementia.
People are justifiably concerned.
Another sea change is occurring at the same time. The same generation that popularized herbal recreation as part of the college experience hope to take a proactive role in preserving the minds they may have formerly sought to alter. They are increasingly turning to dietary supplements to stave off cognitive decline. Note, however, none have been proven to protect the brain from neurodegeneration. The horror is not that so many substances are touted without proof by supplement sellers.