Not medical advice. Talk to your provider before using any peptide.
Full disclaimerBryan Johnson's Cerebrolysin Cognitive Protocol
Bryan Johnson called cerebrolysin "the best subjective neuro-enhancer" he's tried, then added that it produced no measurable biomarker improvement. Phase 1: 5mL IM every other day (10 injections over 20 days). Phase 2: 5mL IM daily for 3 months. Porcine-derived, so not suitable for pork allergies. The gap between subjective experience and objective data is the interesting part here.
Peptide Schedule Research TeamReviewed Apr 2026
For cognitive enhancement using porcine-derived cerebrolysin, documented for both its subjective benefits and its lack of measurable biomarker improvement.
What This Protocol Does
Cerebrolysin injected intramuscularly in two phases. Phase 1: 5mL every other day for 20 days (10 total injections). Phase 2: 5mL daily for 3 months. Johnson called it "the best subjective neuro-enhancer" he had tried. However, his extensive biomarker tracking showed no measurable cognitive improvement. The gap between how it felt and what the data showed is the most interesting part of this protocol.
Who Should Use This
Advanced users interested in cognitive enhancement who accept the subjective-vs-objective disconnect. Requires comfort with intramuscular injections. Not suitable for anyone with pork allergies (cerebrolysin is porcine-derived). Budget for 3+ months of daily IM injections. This protocol is best understood as an n=1 experiment with unusually good data collection behind it.
What the Research Says
Cerebrolysin has over 200 published clinical studies, primarily in stroke recovery and Alzheimer's disease. A Cochrane review found limited evidence for Alzheimer's benefit (Bai et al., PMID 31425608). Multiple European trials showed improved cognitive scores after stroke (Muresanu et al., PMID 26738847). The peptide contains neurotrophic factors derived from porcine brain tissue. Johnson's personal data showed strong subjective improvement with zero biomarker movement, which mirrors the mixed trial results where some endpoints improve and others don't.
Important Notices
- Intramuscular injection required
- No measurable cognitive biomarker improvement despite subjective benefit
- Porcine-derived — not suitable for those with pork allergies
Protocol Overview
Dosing Details
| Peptide | Dose | Frequency | Route | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CerebrolysinLoading | 1076mg | Every Other Day | subcutaneous | Weeks 1-3 |
| 1076mg | Daily | subcutaneous | Weeks 3-16 |
Cerebrolysin: 5mL IM every other day, 10 injections over 20 days.
Cerebrolysin: 5mL IM daily for 3 months. "Best subjective neuro-enhancer" but no measurable biomarker effect.
Metrics Tracked
Schedule This Protocol
Set your start date and track every dose in your calendar.
Peptide Profiles & Calculators
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