Modafinil has arousal and activity-promoting effects that are largely due to changes in monoamines with activation of adrenergic receptors. It has been shown to increase pupillary response and improve performance on psychomotor vigilance tasks in humans.
Although Modafinil Australia holds promise for addressing food addiction, it requires further clinical trials to determine its effectiveness. Regardless, it is important to remember that medication cannot cure addiction and that it must be paired with other coping strategies.
Modafinil Increases Dopamine Levels
Several studies have shown that modafinil increases levels of dopamine in the brain. This may explain why it can help improve cognitive function. It also helps explain why the drug can make people feel energized and motivated.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is involved in various functions, including movement and mood. The brain needs to have adequate amounts of dopamine to function properly.
Studies of the effects of modafinil on cognition have generally found that it enhances a variety of tasks, but it appears that the type of task influenced by modafinil differs. Some studies have found that it increases performance on digit span and sustained attention tasks, while other studies have found that it enhances planning and decision-making.
A recent study by Dr Ruairidh Battleday and colleagues examined all the published research on cognitive enhancement with modafinil and found that it consistently improves performance on tasks such as digit span, a spatial working memory task, an episodic memory task, and a decision-making task.
The cognitive-enhancing effects of modafinil appear to be primarily the result of increased activity in catecholamine systems (particularly a and b adrenergic receptors). These changes in monoamines do not affect extracellular glutamate or GABA, except at very high doses.
Similarly, the arousal and activity-promoting effects of modafinil are also probably largely a result of activation of catecholamine systems (although the DA system is implicated as well). These results suggest that the cognitive-enhancing properties of modafinil are mediated by changes in monoamines, and do not depend on the action of other drugs on glutamate or GABA.
Modafinil Reduces Appetite
Modafinil ( Modalert 200 Tablet ) is a stimulant, and it can be used as a substitute for amphetamine compounds in some clinical applications. A study from Columbia University found that when taken by people doing shift work (which upsets their normal circadian rhythm and eating habits), modafinil “produced clear reductions in food intake”.
It’s unclear exactly why this drug suppresses appetite, but it may be related to its ability to increase the secretion of several neurotransmitters. The most important of these is dopamine, which is known to decrease hunger and compulsive eating. It also increases the release of histamine and orexin, which further reduces a person’s craving for food.
The study also found that the doses of 200 and 400 mg of modafinil significantly decreased total caloric intake, without altering the proportion of calories derived from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. It also reduced subjective ratings of “hunger” on day shifts, but only immediately before the lunch break period. Interestingly, the researchers did not find any evidence of tolerance to the anorexic effects of modafinil over three days of administration.
The reason that modafinil seems to reduce a person’s hunger is because it acts as a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, and inhibits the breakdown of dopamine in the brain. This results in higher levels of dopamine, which makes a person feel rewarded and less likely to seek out rewards like food.
Modafinil Increases Energy Levels
Modafinil is a drug that has been developed to treat narcolepsy but it is also used off-label as a cognitive enhancer to promote productivity and help people to stay alert during work or exam preparation. It has been shown to increase alertness in individuals who are sleep-deprived and studies show that it can improve performance on certain cognitive tasks such as learning, memory, planning, flexibility, and creativity.
A recent systematic review of the evidence by Dr Ruairidh Battleday and Anna-Katharine Brem published in the peer-reviewed journal European Neuropsychopharmacology has found that modafinil is a powerful cognitive enhancer, but the benefits vary with the type and duration of task.
They found that it increases performance on a range of tasks, but it is more effective in longer and more complex tasks. The review also looked at the effects of two nutraceuticals, ginseng, and bacopa, and found that these had much less consistent cognitive enhancement than modafinil.
Other studies have found that single-dose modafinil (100, 200, or 400 mg) has a modest effect on digit span and visual recognition memory; on spatial planning and delayed matching tasks, suggesting improved working memory and inhibition of pre-potent responding; but not on perceptual, arithmetic or reasoning performance.
The authors conclude that this overview suggests that modafinil may well deserve the title of the first well-validated pharmaceutical nootropic agent, enhancing cognition independent of its effects on sleep deprivation.
Modafinil Increases Mood
Modafinil, also known as modafinil, is a wakefulness agent approved for narcolepsy and has been used off-label as a cognitive enhancer in individuals with mental disorders that are associated with impaired cognitive function.
Modafinil improves performance on certain cognitive tasks, such as spatial working memory and recognition memory, in a dose- and delay-dependent manner.
In addition, studies of cognitive enhancement with modafinil have shown that it improves decision-making and planning, as well as enhancing the flexibility of thought and speed of processing.
However, these effects are not universally observed, and it appears that the underlying psychopharmacological mechanisms are complex.
It has been found that modafinil enhances mood in healthy individuals, and it is not clear whether this effect is mediated by modulation of the monoamine system. It has been suggested that modulation of monoamine transporters in the prefrontal cortex and medial hypothalamus could play a role in this effect.
In a placebo-controlled study of narcolepsy patients with varying genetic polymorphisms of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene, modafinil improved performance on several simulated work-related tasks, including CPT-IP and letter-number span, but did not affect error rate on the Stroop interference task (Schwartz et al 2004).
In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial of 31 completers, modafinil reduced errors on the WCST in an open-label trial and a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 200 mg/day added to antidepressants vs 400 mg/day in patients with narcolepsy (Fava et al 2005). However, the non-medical use of modafinil by healthy people for the enhancement of intellectual functioning is debated.
