I am a graduate student in neuroscience, which is relevant because I went into this with knowledge of the proposed mechanisms and relatively calibrated expectations. I ordered Selank specifically for its anxiolytic properties during a brutal exam period -- three comprehensive exams in eight days.
I started with 300 mcg per nostril (600 mcg total) each morning, 30 minutes before beginning study sessions.
The anxiolytic effect was present but mild -- I am not a particularly anxious person outside of exam contexts, so the baseline anxiety reduction was not dramatic. What genuinely surprised me was the cognitive effect.
Within the first week, I noticed that my study sessions had a different quality. I could sustain focused reading for longer stretches without the usual drift into distraction. When I encountered a difficult concept, I could hold it in working memory while I worked through it, rather than losing the thread and having to re-read the paragraph. My notes were more organized -- not because I was trying harder, but because the connections between concepts seemed clearer in real time.
The most striking effect was during actual exam performance. I sat down for my first exam expecting the usual surge of anxiety that disrupts the first 15 minutes. The anxiety came, but it was muted, and it resolved faster than normal. More importantly, my recall felt fluid. I was pulling information from readings done weeks earlier with unusual specificity. I do not attribute this entirely to Selank -- I studied thoroughly -- but the combination of reduced anxiety and what felt like enhanced retrieval was notable.
I scored in the top 5% on all three exams. That is better than my historical average but not unprecedented. I cannot separate Selank's contribution from the fact that I also slept well and studied consistently. But the subjective experience of enhanced cognitive fluency under stress was real and repeatable.
One minor negative: by the third week, I noticed increased nasal dryness. Not congestion, not a runny nose -- just a dry, slightly irritated feeling in my nostrils. It resolved within days of stopping.