{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T09:59:44Z","timestamp":1792058384788,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,10]],"date-time":"2021-02-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1612915200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>There is a robust and compelling body of evidence supporting the ergogenic and therapeutic role of creatine supplementation in muscle. Beyond these well-described effects and mechanisms, there is literature to suggest that creatine may also be beneficial to brain health (e.g., cognitive processing, brain function, and recovery from trauma). This is a growing field of research, and the purpose of this short review is to provide an update on the effects of creatine supplementation on brain health in humans. There is a potential for creatine supplementation to improve cognitive processing, especially in conditions characterized by brain creatine deficits, which could be induced by acute stressors (e.g., exercise, sleep deprivation) or chronic, pathologic conditions (e.g., creatine synthesis enzyme deficiencies, mild traumatic brain injury, aging, Alzheimer\u2019s disease, depression). Despite this, the optimal creatine protocol able to increase brain creatine levels is still to be determined. Similarly, supplementation studies concomitantly assessing brain creatine and cognitive function are needed. Collectively, data available are promising and future research in the area is warranted.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu13020586","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,12]],"date-time":"2021-02-12T16:12:10Z","timestamp":1613146330000},"page":"586","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":150,"title":["Creatine Supplementation and Brain Health"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9513-6132","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hamilton","family":"Roschel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Physiology &amp; Nutrition Research Group, Rheumatology Division, School of Physical Education and Sport, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01246-903, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bruno","family":"Gualano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Applied Physiology &amp; Nutrition Research Group, Rheumatology Division, School of Physical Education and Sport, Faculdade de Medicina FMUSP, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 01246-903, Brazil"},{"name":"Food Research Center, University of S\u00e3o Paulo, Sao Paulo 05508-080, Brazil"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7270-2541","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sergej M.","family":"Ostojic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"FSPE Applied Bioenergetics Lab, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eric S.","family":"Rawson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health, Nutrition, and Exercise Science, Messiah University, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,2,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"519","DOI":"10.1007\/s00726-011-1132-7","article-title":"In sickness and in health: The widespread application of creatine supplementation","volume":"43","author":"Gualano","year":"2011","journal-title":"Amino Acids"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Dolan, E., Artioli, G.G., Pereira, R.M.R., and Gualano, B. 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