AMPA + Racetam Study Set
TAK-653 and nefiracetam, plus the choline people add underneath them
Overview
one AMPA modulator, one racetam, one choline source. it does not tell you how much of anything to use.
Read this first
everything on this page except CDP-choline is research use only. BHG Labs sells TAK-653 and nefiracetam as capsule research compounds with a third-party COA on every lot, not as supplements, and nothing here is a dosing instruction. if you have any seizure history, this set is not for you at all. a log with two changes in it cannot tell you which one did what.
The bench: 3 compounds
roles and evidence, not amounts. this page does not publish doses or schedules for research compounds.
1TAK-653
read the guidethe AMPA positive allosteric modulator (osavampator). low intrinsic activity by design (about 5% in the functional assay), built for AMPA potentiation with less convulsive signal than the older ampakines showed in animals.
evidence: the human data is Takeda phase 1 work under the name TAK-653 and one Neurocrine phase 2 (183 patients) under the name NBI-1065845. the phase 2 has posters and press releases but no peer-reviewed paper as of September 2026.
watch for: the 419-fold safety margin people quote is a rat number. one rat convulsed at a single 100 mg/kg oral dose in Takeda's GLP study, and the margin is measured from that event.
2Nefiracetam
read the guidethe racetam. potentiates nicotinic and NMDA signalling in a bell-shaped way and touches GABA-A. the user reports describe weeks, not hours.
evidence: decades of animal work and a handful of small human trials that did not move their primary endpoints. the Japanese development program was dropped in 2002 for lack of efficacy in dementia.
watch for: dog studies showed testicular toxicity at 180 to 300 mg/kg. it is not interchangeable with oxiracetam.
3CDP-Choline
read the guidethe choline source. racetams raise acetylcholine turnover in animal work; citicoline is the best-studied choline in people.
evidence: mixed human data. the big stroke trial (ICTUS) missed its endpoint and the attention studies are small. nefiracetam with citicoline has never been tested together in people.
watch for: nausea and headache at the high end. it is a supplement, not a research chemical.
Form
capsules, as sold
Human data
small phase 1 and 2 for TAK-653, small trials for nefiracetam, mixed for citicoline
BHG Labs carries
2 of 3
Level
advanced
Why these together
TAK-653 and nefiracetam pull on different parts of glutamate signalling. TAK-653 potentiates AMPA receptors directly. nefiracetam works upstream through nicotinic and NMDA potentiation, and the user reports describe weeks before anything changes. citicoline sits underneath both for that reason. the common report is that headaches on a racetam ease when choline goes in. nobody has measured it.
Overlap
nefiracetam is not an AMPA modulator, so this pairing is not the doubling-up problem. the overlap to watch is stimulation. reports put TAK-653 next to heavy caffeine as wired rather than sharp.
Conflicts
TAK-653 with any other AMPA modulator (aniracetam, IDRA-21): avoid. TAK-653 with a seizure history or with drugs that lower the seizure threshold (tramadol, bupropion): avoid. nefiracetam with oxiracetam: they are not the same thing and nobody has tested them together. nefiracetam is cleared hepatically and there is no alcohol interaction study, which is itself a reason to be careful.
What the evidence actually is
TAK-653 has clean phase 1 safety data and an unpublished phase 2. nefiracetam has decades of animal work and small human trials that did not move their primary endpoints. citicoline has the most human data of the three and its biggest trial was null. nobody has studied the three together.
What people report
people describe sharper recall on TAK-653 days and a slower change from nefiracetam over weeks. that is user report, not trial data.
Who It's For
experienced researchers who already keep a log. not a first stack.
What to Track
recall on a fixed test, sleep, headache days, irritability
Sourced at BHG Labs
Ownership disclosure: BHG Labs and BodyHackGuide are commonly owned. When you buy from BHG Labs, the team behind this site benefits, so read the evidence sections above with that in mind. Third-party COA on every lot. Research use only. Code REDDIT takes 10% off at checkout.
CDP-choline is a supplement. BHG Labs does not sell it; any supplement store does.
Read the compound guides
Frequently Asked Questions
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