Cognitive enhancing effects of modafinil in healthy volunteers.

Full Abstract

RATIONALE:
Modafinil, a novel wake-promoting agent, has been shown to have a similar clinical profile to that of conventional stimulants such as methylphenidate. We were therefore interested in assessing whether modafinil, with its unique pharmacological mode of action, might offer similar potential as a cognitive enhancer, without the side effects commonly experienced with amphetamine-like drugs.

OBJECTIVES:
The main aim of this study was to evaluate the cognitive enhancing potential of this novel agent using a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests.

METHODS:
Sixty healthy young adult male volunteers received either a single oral dose of placebo, or 100 mg or 200 mg modafinil prior to performing a variety of tasks designed to test memory and attention. A randomised double-blind, between-subjects design was used.

RESULTS:
Modafinil significantly enhanced performance on tests of digit span, visual pattern recognition memory, spatial planning and stop-signal reaction time. These performance improvements were complemented by a slowing in latency on three tests:
delayed matching to sample, a decision-making task and the spatial planning task. Subjects reported feeling more alert, attentive and energetic on drug. The effects were not clearly dose dependent, except for those seen with the stop-signal paradigm. In contrast to previous findings with methylphenidate, there were no significant effects of drug on spatial memory span, spatial working memory, rapid visual information processing or attentional set-shifting. Additionally, no effects on paired associates learning were identified.

CONCLUSIONS:
These data indicate that modafinil selectively improves neuropsychological task performance. This improvement may be attributable to an enhanced ability to inhibit pre-potent responses. This effect appears to reduce impulsive responding, suggesting that modafinil may be of benefit in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Turner, Danielle C (DC); Robbins, Trevor W (TW); Clark, Luke (L); Aron, Adam R (AR); Dowson, Jonathan (J); Sahakian, Barbara J (BJ);

Affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, School of Clinical Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Comparative Study; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Psychopharmacology (Psychopharmacology (Berl)), published in Germany. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Jan; vol 165 (issue 3) : pp 260-9

Dates: Created 2003/01/23; Completed 2003/05/07; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12417966, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Benzhydryl Compounds - pharmacology
Blood Pressure - drug effects
Cognition - drug effects
Decision Making - drug effects
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Double-Blind Method
Heart Rate - drug effects

Heart Rate - drug effects
Humans
Male
Memory - drug effects
Neuroprotective Agents - pharmacology
Pain Measurement
Pattern Recognition, Visual - drug effects
Psychological Tests

Associated Chemicals: Benzhydryl Compounds (0) ; Neuroprotective Agents (0) ; modafinil (68693-11-8)

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.