The tendency of modafinil to increase alpha power and decrease theta power on EEG in human helicopter pilots (Caldwell et al 2000) is consistent with its stimulant properties.
Other studies using in vivo microdialysis show that modafinil increases HA, NE, and 5-HT in the cortex, dorsal raphe, and amygdaloid areas of the brain and promotes adenosine release in the tuberomammillary nucleus.
How do I know if Modafinil is working?
Modafinil Online Australia is a wake-promoting agent that has been found to improve cognitive performance in healthy individuals. Several studies have indicated that this drug enhances memory, vigilance, and attention, without significant effects on perceptual and logical reasoning (Table 3).
In one study, 41 military recruits who received either modafinil 300 mg or d-amphetamine 20 mg on three separate occasions after working a 64 h shift, performed significantly better on a series of cognitive tests than the placebo group, including delayed visual recognition memory, spatial planning, and a version of the Tower of London, suggesting that modafinil does not impair performance in these tasks by increasing speed-accuracy trade-offs.
In addition, many of the clinical trials of modafinil in psychiatric conditions have reported a positive effect on cognitive function, as well as reduced feelings of fatigue and depression (Table 4).
Unlike amphetamines, modafinil does not cause significant increases in heart rate or blood pressure. It also has a lower liability to abuse, as evidenced by its low rate of occurrence of adverse events in clinical trials in psychiatric patients.
The neurochemical action of modafinil is still not well understood, but the drug is thought to have primary effect on catecholaminergic systems in the brain. The drug is a racemate, and the two enantiomers are approximately equipotent in behavioral effects in mice but different in pharmacokinetic profile, with the R-enantiomer (armodafinil) reaching higher plasma concentrations and having a longer duration of wake-promoting activity than the D-enantiomer (Modafinil).
How do I know if Modafinil is safe?
Modafinil is a wake-promoting drug that works by acting on areas in the brain that control sleep and wakefulness. It’s use to treat extreme sleepiness cause by narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, or obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (a condition that causes episodes of stopping or shortening of breathing during sleep).
It is also market as a “smart drug”, with claims that it improves memory, motivation, and concentration and increases IQ. Studies in sleep-deprive people have shown that modafinil does increase alertness and cognitive performance, though these effects are less clear in people who are not sleep-deprive.
Rare but serious side effects of this medication include severe skin reactions like Stevens-Johnson syndrome and Drug Reaction with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS). Tell your doctor right away if you have a rash that spreads, especially to the face or neck, or causes blisters or peeling. Other serious side effects that may need to be treate in a hospital include mental or mood problems like depression or suicidal thoughts.
It’s important to tell your doctor about all the medications you take, including over-the-counter and herbal products. This includes vitamins and dietary supplements. Also tell your doctor if you have any heart problems or other health problems, especially if you have high blood pressure or a history of heart disease, kidney or liver problems, or a family history of diabetes or hypertension.
How do I know if Modafinil is effective?
Modafinil has demonstrated clinical efficacy in a variety of neuropsychiatric illnesses that are typically treate with stimulants, particularly narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Its success is due to its significantly improved side effect profile compared to amphetamine, including a lower liability to abuse. It also has been show to improve cognitive function in human studies, largely by its actions on the prefrontal cortex.
In narcolepsy, two randomized double-blind placebo-controlled studies by the US Modafinil in Narcolepsy Multicenter Study Group showed that Modalert Tablet increased subjective and objective measures of alertness, as well as vigor, and reduced sleepiness.
These effects were associate with a significant reduction in errors on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). In addition, modafinil increased vigor-activity and reduced self-reported fatigue-inertia in narcolepsy patients compared to placebo.
Interestingly, a recent open-label extension of this study found that modafinil continued to increase vigor and vigilance and reduce errors on the WCST even after the end of the double-blind phase. In addition, modafinil increased accuracy on a degraded-stimulus continuous performance task and trended toward improvement on a version of the Tower of London test, both tests measuring cognitive control.
Other investigations have reported similar findings in psychiatric populations. For example, a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 20 patients with chronic schizophrenia who received either modafinil or a placebo during 64 hours of sustained wakefulness found that those receiving modafinil performed better on both a digit span forwards and backward test and on the delayed visual recognition memory task than did controls. The improve performance on these task was associate with an increase in a measure of frontal cortex activity.
How do I know if Modafinil is not working?
Many people who take Modafinil report that it helps improve their cognitive function and alertness, but some may feel like the medication is not helping at all or that they are gaining no benefit from it.
Modafinil may affect your blood pressure and heart rate. It is important to tell your doctor if you have a history of heart disease or high blood pressure, or if you have a family history of these problems. It is also important to tell your doctor if you have liver problems, a history of drug addiction, or any mental/mood changes (such as agitation, hallucinations, or depression).
There is some evidence from animal and human studies that modafinil can decrease fear processing in the amygdala. This is thought to be related to its ability to increase dopamine in the nucleus accumbens, a part of the reward circuitry, but it is not certain that this is a direct effect.
Modafinil can reduce the effectiveness of hormonal birth control pills, patches, rings, and implants. Use another form of birth control, and tell your doctor if you experience spotting or breakthrough bleeding while taking this medication.
This medication can also speed up the removal of other medications from your body, including those used to treat hepatitis C (such as amprenavir and ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir). Talk to your doctor before taking this medication with any other medicines you are using. Read More Blog…
