CDP-Choline (Citicoline) for Attention
Citicoline (CDP-choline) shows only weak, preliminary signals for improving attention in healthy people, drawn from a handful of small studies. The largest, highest-quality trial found no cognitive benefit, so any real-world effect remains unproven.
Why this grade7-layer evidence engine
The grade is Weak (Tier C) because the supporting evidence is thin and low-quality. Three small randomized trials reported attention or processing-speed gains: one in 60 healthy women, one in 75 adolescent males (PMID 26179181), and one using a citicoline-plus-caffeine beverage in 60 adults (PMID 25046515). All were rated low quality, none reported p-values or effect sizes in their abstracts, two were funded by the supplement maker (Cognizin/Kyowa Hakko), and the caffeine combination makes it impossible to credit citicoline alone.
Crucially, the one large, high-quality, government-funded trial pulls the other way. COBRIT (n=1,213; PMID 23168823) tested 2,000 mg/day in traumatic brain injury patients and found no improvement in functional or cognitive status versus placebo. That negative result, in a far larger sample, weighs against strong attention claims even though the population differs from healthy users.
Authorities offer no endorsement. The US FDA treats citicoline as a supplement ingredient and has issued warning letters over disease claims, while EFSA in Europe rejected health claims for memory and vision, citing insufficient evidence. Mayo Clinic and Harvard Health are neutral, Cleveland Clinic only notes it is a well-absorbed choline form, and no neurology or psychiatry society guideline recommends it for attention.
Scoring transparency
All scores computed by a 7-layer evidence engine — fully auditable▸View the full decision path (audit trail)
- compute_raw_score — 加權公式: L2×0.30 + L3×0.25 + L5×0.25 + L11×0.10 + L1×0.10 = 0.515
- tier_from_score — 依分數區間映射至 tier letter
- apply_hec_rules — 無高階證據可裁決
- tier_strict_requirement_check — Tier 條件達標，未降階
- detect_disputes — 偵測到 0 個 hard + 1 個 soft dispute
- decide_status — 依 tier + dispute 結果決定 status