Beyond muscle: the effects of creatine supplementation on brain creatine, cognitive processing, and traumatic brain injury.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review without systematic review methodology.
PubMed 30086660 · doi:10.1080/17461391.2018.1500644
What was done
This narrative review synthesized existing evidence on the effects of creatine supplementation on brain creatine concentrations, cognitive performance under stress, and recovery from mild traumatic brain injury in healthy individuals.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data or statistical estimates. It reports that brain creatine responds to supplementation but likely requires higher or more prolonged doses than standard muscle-loading protocols. Cognitive benefits appear most evident during stressful conditions such as sleep deprivation, experimental hypoxia, or complex cognitive tasks. Evidence suggests potential benefit in reducing mild traumatic brain injury severity or improving recovery, but human verification is limited.
Why it matters
It highlights emerging applications of creatine supplementation for brain bioenergetics, cognitive resilience under stress, and potential neuroprotection.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review without systematic synthesis or reported sample sizes. Optimal dosing strategies for brain uptake remain unknown, and direct human clinical data on traumatic brain injury are sparse.
Cited by
- supports Creatine does not cross the blood-brain barrier easily, so higher acute doses around 10 grams are needed to improve cognitive performance and alertness during sleep deprivation.