Modafinil has been shown to promote wakefulness and some studies suggest the drug can improve cognitive function. Because of many similarities, the mechanism of action may be comparable to classical psychostimulants, although the exact mechanisms of modafinil's actions in wakefulness and cognitive enhancement are unknown. The current study aims to further examine the effects of modafinil as a c...

OBJECTIVE Enhanced reactivity to substance related cues is a central characteristic of addiction and has been associated with increased activity in motivation, attention, and memory related brain circuits and with a higher probability of relapse. Modafinil was promising in the first clinical trials in cocaine dependence, and was able to reduce craving in addictive disorders. However, its mechan...

Modafinil is prescribed for numerous medical conditions, but the drug's mechanism of action is unclear. Here, we examined the interaction of modafinil with receptors and transporters in vitro and compared pharmacological effects of the drug with those produced by indirect dopamine (DA) agonists 1-[2-[bis(4-fluorophenyl)methoxy]ethyl]-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine (GBR12909) and (+)-methamphetami...

This is the first report describing the efficacy of modafinil therapy for narcolepsy in patients in Taiwan. The purpose of this study was to compare the objective Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) and the subjective Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for evaluating the efficacy of modafinil in treating excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy in Taiwan. Ten consecutive patients wit...

Background Psychostimulants such as methylphenidate and modafinil are increasingly used by healthy people for cognitive enhancement purposes, whereas the acute effect of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy) on cognitive functioning in healthy subjects remains unclear. This study directly compared the acute effects of methylphenidate, modafinil, and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine on th...

CONTEXT Modafinil, a wake-promoting drug used to treat narcolepsy, is increasingly being used as a cognitive enhancer. Although initially launched as distinct from stimulants that increase extracellular dopamine by targeting dopamine transporters, recent preclinical studies suggest otherwise. OBJECTIVE To measure the acute effects of modafinil at doses used therapeutically (200 mg and 400 mg ...

BACKGROUND Modafinil is a wake-promoting agent that provides wide ranges of neurological effects. There is evidence that it can produce antidepressant effects. This study investigated the antidepressant effect of modafinil in the tail suspension (TST) in mice. METHODS Different doses of modafinil was intraperitoneally (ip) administrated and then animals were subjected to TST and/or open field...

TO THE EDITOR: In the August issue of the Journal, Charles P. O’Brien, M.D., Ph.D. (1) stated the following about modafinil, a drug that he reported may decrease cocaine use in some cocaine users: “The medication has not been reported to produce euphoria, and there has been no indication of excessive use or abuse in clinical trials” (p. 1428). As the scientific basis for his comment, the author...

Introduction: Ethanol is considered as an effective agent in reducing brain stroke injury. In this study, we assessed the effects of modafinil along with ethanol as a combination therapy on behavioral function in Wistar rats. Methods: The right Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion (MCAO) was performed and the rats were divided into nine groups (n=8 per group). The animal groups in this study were ...

Modafinil is a well-tolerated medication for excessive sleepiness, attention-deficitdisorder, cocaine dependence and as an adjunct to antidepressants with low propensity forabuse. We investigated the modafinil action on identified dopaminergic and GABAergicneurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN) of rat brain slices.Modafinil (20 μM) inhibited the fi...