Our knowledge of opium use in ancient Egypt comes primarily from the Ramesseum (1900 BCE), Kahun (1850 BCE), and Ebers (1550 BCE) papyri.

Piracetam is the standard nootropic, the one we might consider the father of smart drugs. It was first synthesized in 1964 by the team led by Corneliu Giurgea at the Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB (Union Chimique Belge), which was founded in 1928 and specialized in, among other things, medications for the nervous system.