Every study we read on this question

Trials in people (11)

• A 6-week trial of creatine in 123 adults found no clear memory gain
  Randomized trial2023123 peopleNo difference
• 24-week trial in 56 older women: creatine did not clearly change memory or attention
  Randomized trial201356 peopleNo difference
• 5-day trial in 128 young women: creatine helped memory in vegetarians only
  Randomized trial2011128 peopleMixed
• 1-week trial in 32 older adults found creatine improved all but one task
  Randomized trial200732 peoplePoints to benefit
• 6-week trial in 45 young vegetarians: creatine improved working memory and reasoning scores
  Randomized trial200345 peoplePoints to benefit
• 8-week trial in 36 women around menopause: creatine 1,500 mg improved reaction time
  Randomized trial202636 peoplePoints to benefit
• 12-week trial in 64 adults aged 45-65: better strength and some thinking measures
  Randomized trial202664 peoplePoints to benefit
• Trial in 29 adults awake 21 hours: one creatine dose eased decline in tests
  Randomized trial202629 peoplePoints to benefit
• Trial in 12 young men: creatine nitrate plus caffeine improved a thinking test score
  Randomized trial202412 peoplePoints to benefit
• Creatine trial in adults awake 36 hours: one thinking task improved, others did not
  Randomized trial2007Mixed
• Trial in 19 adults awake 24 hours: creatine group declined less on some tests
  Randomized trial200619 peoplePoints to benefit

Animal and cell (1)

• In rats, nose-sprayed creatine gave fewer maze errors than swallowed creatine
  Animal study2023Points to benefit

Reviews (8)

• Review of 6 studies in 1,542 older adults: creatine linked to better thinking scores
  Systematic review20261,542 peoplePoints to benefit
• Pooled review of 16 studies: better memory scores, but no gain in overall thinking
  Pooled review (meta-analysis)2024492 peopleMixed
• Review on thinking in vegetarians, older and stressed people: no clear creatine gain
  Systematic review2024No difference
• Pooled review of 8 studies in healthy people: better memory, mainly in older adults
  Pooled review (meta-analysis)2023Points to benefit
• Review of 15 articles: creatine helped after brain injury in children, teens and mice
  Systematic review2023Points to benefit
• Review of 17 studies: no clear added thinking benefit from creatine in older exercisers
  Systematic review2020No difference
• Review of 9 studies in vegetarians: creatine linked to better memory and intelligence
  Systematic review2020Points to benefit
• Review of 6 studies in 281 people found mixed results for memory and thinking
  Systematic review2018281 peopleMixed

Opinion (1)

• Case report: 28 months of creatine treatment improved one patient with rare gene problem
  Opinion or narrative review20231 personPoints to benefit