Attention Research Analysis

Human Effect Matrix

The Human Effect Matrix looks at human studies (it excludes animal and in vitro studies) to tell you what supplements affect attention

Grade	Level of Evidence [show legend]
	Robust research conducted with repeated double-blind clinical trials
	Multiple studies where at least two are double-blind and placebo controlled
	Single double-blind study or multiple cohort studies
	Uncontrolled or observational studies only

Outcome	Magnitude of effect ? The direction and size of the supplement's impact on each outcome. Some supplements can have an increasing effect, others have a decreasing effect, and others have no effect.	Consistency of research results ? Scientific research does not always agree. HIGH or VERY HIGH means that most of the scientific research agrees.	Notes
Bacopa monnieri	-	High See all 3 studies	There is unlikely to be an inherent effect of bacopa on attention, although at least one study noted improvements in attention in persons with attention deficit (ADD).
Cocoa Extract	-	Very High See all 3 studies	In assessing the effects of cocoa on mood states, attention does not appear to be significantly altered when compared to placebo.
Ginkgo biloba	-	Very High See all 5 studies	Attentional focus and similar parameters (task switching) do not appear to be significantly influenced by ginkgo supplementation.
Theanine	Notable	- See study	A single study that used 200 mg of Suntheanine® observed a notable improvement in attentional task performance in subjects with high anxiety, whereas subjects with low anxiety didn't see a notable improvement.
CDP-choline
Centella asiatica
D-Serine
L-Carnitine
Modafinil
Nigella sativa
Phosphatidylserine
Pycnogenol
Creatine
Fish Oil
Marijuana
Melatonin
Melissa officinalis
Red Clover Extract
Rhodiola Rosea
S-Adenosyl Methionine
Peppermint
Pueraria lobata
Nicotine

All comparative evidence is now gathered in our A-to-Z Supplement Reference.

The evidence for each separate supplement is still freely available here.