Does lion's mane improve memory?

What we found

• Only 14 papers exist on this question. Four are human trials of memory or thinking; the two that report size had 30 and 41 people. Mori 2009, Saitsu 2019, Docherty 2023, La Monica 2023
• In 30 adults aged 50 to 80 with mild memory and thinking problems, 16 weeks of lion's mane tablets raised test scores above placebo. Scores fell after stopping. Mori 2009
• In two other trials, one dose of lion's mane (1.8 g or 1 g) made people faster on some thinking tasks but not on others. Docherty 2023, La Monica 2023
• The only review pooled one trial and one pilot trial: memory and thinking test scores rose by a combined average of 1.17 with lion's mane. Menon 2025

What the research says

What reviews of many studies found

Reviews pool or sum up earlier studies. They are not on the ladder, because they repeat studies already counted there.

• Systematic review · Menon 2025

  Covered five randomized trials, three pilot trials, 15 lab studies and three others (2000 to June 2024). Pooling one trial and one pilot, memory and thinking test scores rose by 1.17. It concluded lion's mane enhances thinking.

How the research grew

The papers we read span 2009 to 2025. 1 of the 6 on-topic papers came out in 2024 to 2026. The earliest trial in people here is from 2009.

1. 2009
   Trials in people
2. 2019
   Trials in people
3. 2022
   Animal and cell
4. 2023
   Trials in people
5. 2025
   Reviews

Each dot is one on-topic paper, colored by what it found. Rings mark key papers:

1. 2009. First human trial: 30 older adults, 16 weeks. Mori 2009
2. 2019. Second longer trial; better on one of three tests. Saitsu 2019
3. 2023. Largest stated trial: 41 healthy young adults. Docherty 2023
4. 2025. Only review; pools memory test scores from two studies. Menon 2025

Who was studied

Who took part, and how many. The largest trial here had 41 people.

1. Trials in people
2. 41 people · Docherty 2023
   Healthy adults aged 18-45
3. 30 people · Mori 2009
   Japanese adults aged 50 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment
4. People in the study, log scale
   110100

• Points to benefit
• Mixed
• No difference
• No direction
• Points to harm

Bars use a log scale: each step is ten times more people. Reviews, animal studies and papers with no count in the abstract are not shown.

Who funds this research

Of four trial papers, two have a company stake: Sempera Organics supplied the product for one, and Applied Food Sciences funded another. The other two trials give no disclosure in PubMed. Stakes did not lower the confidence, since not every supporting study has one.

• Company stake 2
• No disclosure in PubMed 2

• Docherty 2023Company stake
• La Monica 2023Company stake
• Saitsu 2019No disclosure in PubMed
• Mori 2009No disclosure in PubMed

Funding rule. A stake is always shown. Confidence is lowered only when every supporting study comes from a party with a stake. "No disclosure in PubMed" means the PubMed record has no conflict-of-interest statement. It does not mean there is no conflict.

All 6 on-topic papers

Each paper shows what it tested, what it found, and who has a stake. Every paper also has its own page that explains how much it counts and how it fits. See every study as a list.

1. Randomized trial · measured the question itselfDocherty et al., 2023Nutrients · PubMed

   The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion's Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults: A Double-Blind, Parallel Groups, Pilot Study.

   41 people · Healthy adults aged 18-45

   Tested1.8 g lion's mane as one dose (tested 60 minutes later) and over 28 days, vs placebo. How often it was taken is not stated.

   One 1.8 g dose made people quicker on the Stroop task at 60 min (p = 0.005). After 28 days, stress showed only a trend down (p = 0.051). Other results showed no change or were slightly negative.

   MixedCompany stakeAbstract only

   Authors declare no conflict, but Sempera Organics supplied the lion's mane product.

   Read the study page

2. Randomized trial · measured the question itselfLa Monica et al., 2023Nutrients · PubMed

   Acute Effects of Naturally Occurring Guayusa Tea and Nordic Lion's Mane Extracts on Cognitive Performance.

   Adults (number and age not given in abstract) tested on thinking tasks

   TestedOne dose of 1 g Nordic lion's mane, vs 650 mg guayusa extract, vs placebo, in a crossover design; tested 1 and 2 hours later

   One 1 g dose of lion's mane improved attempts on Serial 7s, reaction time on N-Back and Go reaction time on Go/No-go (p ≤ 0.05). Guayusa improved more measures than lion's mane.

   MixedCompany stakeAbstract only

   Funded by Applied Food Sciences; one author reports funding and fees from supplement companies.

   Read the study page

3. Randomized trial · measured the question itselfSaitsu et al., 2019Biomedical research (Tokyo, Japan) · PubMed

   Improvement of cognitive functions by oral intake of Hericium erinaceus.

   Adults tested for memory and thinking (number and age not given in abstract)

   TestedSupplement made from lion's mane fruiting body for 12 weeks, vs placebo

   Three tests were done. On the Mini Mental State Examination alone, scores were better with lion's mane. The other two tests (Benton visual retention, verbal paired-associate learning) are not reported as better.

   MixedNo disclosure in PubMedAbstract only

   No disclosure in PubMed.

   Read the study page

4. Randomized trial · measured the question itselfMori et al., 2009Phytotherapy research : PTR · PubMed

   Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial.

   30 people · Japanese adults aged 50 to 80 with mild cognitive impairment

   TestedFour 250 mg tablets, three times a day (3 g a day) for 16 weeks, vs placebo

   At weeks 8, 12 and 16 the lion's mane group scored higher than placebo on a memory and thinking scale (HDS-R). At week 4 after stopping, scores fell. Lab tests showed no harmful effect.

   Points to benefitNo disclosure in PubMedAbstract only

   No disclosure in PubMed.

   Read the study page

5. Animal studyRodriguez et al., 2022Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · PubMed

   Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) Exerts Anxiolytic Effects in the rTg4510 Tau Mouse Model.

   Mice bred to develop Alzheimer-type brain changes

   TestedDiet with lion's mane for 4.5 months, vs standard diet

   Treated mice were less anxious in two tests. No improvements were seen in spatial memory or activities of daily living.

   No differenceNo stake declaredAbstract only

   No competing interests declared.

   Read the study page

6. Systematic reviewMenon et al., 2025Frontiers in nutrition · PubMed

   Benefits, side effects, and uses of Hericium erinaceus as a supplement: a systematic review.

   26 studies · People with and without dementia in trials, plus lab, cell and other studies

   TestedLion's mane in 5 randomized trials, 3 pilot trials, 15 lab studies, 1 cohort study, 1 case report and 1 computer analysis

   Scores on a memory and thinking test (Mini-Mental State Examination) from one randomized trial and one pilot trial rose by a combined weighted mean of 1.17 in the lion's mane group. Possible side effects: stomach discomfort, headache, allergic reactions.

   Points to benefitNo stake declaredAbstract only

   No competing interests declared.

   Read the study page

Words on this page

p-value (p =)

How likely a result this large would be by chance if there were no real effect. Below 0.05 is usually called a clear result.

Placebo

A dummy pill or fake treatment, so people do not know which group they are in.

Pooled review (meta-analysis)

A study that combines the results of many earlier studies to get one overall answer.

Cohort study

A study that follows a large group of people over years. It shows links, not causes.

How the short answer is set

Fixed rules turn the studies into the short answer, so the same studies always give the same answer. The rules start from GRADE, a standard system for rating evidence, in plain language.

Why very low here

• Only four human trials; the two that report size had 30 and 41 people.
• Results are mixed: most trials improved only one or a few of several tests.
• Abstracts give almost no effect sizes or ranges, so any benefit's size is unclear.
• Two trials tested a single dose; the longest trial lasted 16 weeks.

How this page was made

Search. We ran four PubMed searches for lion's mane mushroom and memory and thinking: pooled and systematic reviews since 2012 (3 of 3), trials in people (5 of 5), population studies (0 of 0), animal studies (6 of 39). The first number is how many papers we read; the second is how many PubMed found. We took the ones PubMed ranks as most relevant. See the full PubMed search. Of the 14 papers read, 6 were on topic.

Limits. Digestery reads at most about 60 papers per question, so large fields are sampled, not covered in full. Abstracts can leave out key details, such as side effects and funding.

Review queue

These items wait for a person. Search engines are asked not to list the page until the first one is done.

1. OpenThe short answer is new. It waits for a source check by a person.
2. OpenRetracted: Zhu 2022 (Zhu 2022, mouse study) was retracted for reused data. It is not counted as evidence.
3. OpenMenon review Menon 2025 pooled one trial and one pilot trial; these may be Mori Mori 2009 or Saitsu Saitsu 2019. Check for double counting.
4. OpenSaitsu Saitsu 2019 and La Monica La Monica 2023 abstracts give no number of people or ages; Saitsu gives no dose. Check full texts.
5. OpenDocherty Docherty 2023: abstract does not say the 1.8 g was taken daily over 28 days. Check the dose in the full text.
6. OpenLa Monica La Monica 2023: unclear whether lion's mane gains were measured against placebo or against each person's starting score.
7. OpenMori Mori 2009 and Saitsu Saitsu 2019 have no conflict statement in PubMed, so company ties are unknown.
8. OpenKocatürk review Kocatürk 2023 says lion's mane mycelia improved cognition in Alzheimer's; excluded as a many-supplement review. Confirm the exclusion.
9. OpenGuan Guan 2024 tested Hericium coralloides, not lion's mane; excluded under the topic rule even though mouse memory improved.
10. OpenMenon Menon 2025 pools two studies but is typed systematic_review; confirm whether it should count as a meta-analysis.

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