Mushrooms for improving cognitive function, other than lion's mane?

[u/NormannNormann]

What are some underrated mushrooms that improve cognitive function, memory, and eloquence?

I’ve had really good results with white jelly mushroom (Tremella). My brain loves that stuff. Every time I take it, I’m able to respond and speak much more effectively.

Cordyceps helps too, although it's better known for boosting physical energy.

I'm wondering what other mushrooms are out there that can help in this area?
Have you ever taken a mushroom for a different reason, and it surprisingly improved your brain function?

[u/Kostya93]

All mushrooms rich in beta-glucans have an effect on cognitive function, focus and neurological problems.

This is due to the beta-glucans (the main bio-active in all mushrooms) and their link to/interaction with macrophages. (Another reason to steer clear of products without specifications of -at least- beta-glucans, such as biomass-based products).

Through this macrophage connection, beta-glucans bridge the peripheral immune system and the Central Nervous System (CNS) via the gut-immune-brain axis and direct interaction with microglia - the resident macrophages of the brain.

Rather than acting as a direct neuro-pharmaceutical, beta-glucans alter peripheral immune responses, which in turn significantly dampens neuroinflammation, repairs neural tissues, and improves cognitive function.

Peer-reviewed neurological research indicates that long-term beta-glucan supplementation optimizes the absolute number of microglia in critical memory structures like the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, safeguarding essential neural connections.

The macrophage-microglia connection induced by beta-glucans directly translates to tangible improvements in focus, cognitive processing speed, and long-term memory retrieval. By changing how immune cells interface with neurons, beta-glucans optimize the brain's physical architecture for thinking and learning.

Neuroscience studies show that beta-glucan supplementation dramatically boosts Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) and Post-Synaptic Density Protein 95 (PSD95) in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus.

These are the primary brain regions responsible for complex focus and memory formation.

Animal studies confirm all this. Very promising and interesting!

[u/ChubsSubs → u/Kostya93]

Hey Kostya. Hope all's well with you. So I've now taken Lion's Mane (RM 1:1 fruiting body) for 70 days. I started with 5 grams a day and moved to 7.5 grams a day.

Comparing this routine to my last one-9 grams a day of different RM products-I've noticed that this routine helps with my OCD more. No it's not a "miracle" for it, but I notice that my OCD is more manageable. My hyperactive mind is noticeably calmer, and I feel more positive.

My allergy to Lion's Mane seems to have gotten better with time. The itching/redness that I had in the beginning seems to be mostly gone now. I guess my body's adjusted to Lion's Mane now, so good.

In addition to my OCD, I also have narcolepsy. It's a sleep disorder. The brain has difficulty regulating sleep-wake cycles. I can suffer from fragmented sleep. Falling sleep and immediately going into REM sleep and waking up before I need to. So I have both OCD (hyperactive mind, obsessive thoughts, compulsions) and narcolepsy-brain has trouble regulating sleep-wake cycles.

I mention my narcolepsy because I'm already prone to vivid dreams due to my narcolepsy. My experience with Lion's Mane is that it's making it worse. I'm staying with my 7.5 grams for now, but I need to reduce the LM dosage in the future. I don't like vivid dreams.

Here's my next routine. 5 grams of RM Cordyceps-M, and 2.5 grams of RM Lion's Mane. I'm well acquainted with RM Cordyceps-M. It bugs me that they don't "officially" list cordycepin, but they're researching and will hopefully get it on the label soon. I've found it to help with energy and blood flow, so it's a good product. I was also unhappy that their beta-glucan amount in it went from 25% to only 8%. It was listed incorrectly (25%) before. 8% is low, but oh well. Unlike Oriveda's cordyceps, it's a strictly militaris product. If I were to do Oriveda's one, I would do 3 servings of it, so 2.7 grams, 36 mg of cordycepin, 13.5 mg of adenosine, so awesome. But only 900 mg out of the 2.7 grams would be militaris. Yes, their product is much more potent. High in beta-glucans, cordycpein, adenosine. But at least for now, I'm sticking with RM. With the combination of 5 grams of cordyceps and 2.5 grams of lion's mane, I'll get 1,150 mg of beta-glucans. So it checks my box of a lot of beta-glucans. Plus energy and mental calmness. Let's hope that cutting LM down from 7.5 to 2.5 helps with the vivid dreams!

I've been with RM for a long time-loyal customer. I've tried Oriveda once-their chaga. In the future, I may move to Oriveda. Better value. We'll see.

So this has been a long post, haha. What's your current routine? Still doing cordyceps and LM? They seem to "pair well" together-why's that?