As constantly evolving creatures defined by perpetual adaptation, the human species has an instinctual drive for curiosity and creativity which has allowed for our survival and perpetuation across planet Earth. In modern times, our insatiable inquisitiveness has driven scientific research, and with scientific research, comes knowledge. The age of metaphysical speculation about the human mind is waning, and the field of objective neuroscience is accumulating a wealth of data revealing the mechanisms of our godlike cerebral abilities. The ability to strategically alter and modify our processing unit has become feasible, and with labored innovation, chemical substances have been designed with the potential for transcendence from our exclusively biological origins. Pharmaceuticals known as "nootropics" are entering the scene of modern medicine, touting the ability to not only improve cognitive functioning in the expected period after initial ingestion, but also to provide long term cognitive health benefits if taken regularly, with little to no side effects. Developed in 1964, piracetam was the first nootropic drug synthesized, and the most widely tested, currently legal in many Asian and European countries with a prescription. In this presentation, animal research indicating piracetam's efficacy in treating depression, stress, anxiety, and increasing exploratory behavior is discussed, as well as the long-term case studies on humans, demonstrating benefits to short-term memory, long-term memory, and neural plasticity, with an emphasis on proposed neurochemical interaction. Other cognitive enhancing “smart drugs” in the -racetam family purported to be useful in treating Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and schizophrenia are examined as well. Finally explored are the governmental regulations on such smart drugs vs. amphetamines, and the predicted future of the “new brain” movement.