A review of its effects in schizophrenia suggests that modafinil facilitates cognitive functions , with pro-mnemonic effects and problem solving improvements .
The systematic review on the neurochemical modulation of the modafinil suggests that its mnemonic enhancing properties might be the result of glutamatergic and dopaminergic increased neuronal activation in the hippocampus and in the prefrontal cortex respectively .
Other neurotransmitters were also activated by modafinil in various limbic brain areas , suggesting that the drug acts on these brain regions to influence emotional responses .
Modafinil is a central nervous system wake promoting agent used for the treatment of excessive daytime sleeping .
Its vigilance promoting properties and low abuse potential has intrigued the scientific community and has led to use it as a cognitive enhancer , before its neural functions were understood .
Here , we review the effects of modafinil in human cognition and emotion and its specific actions on symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and whether these are consistently effective throughout the literature .
We also performed a systematic review on the effects of modafinil on neurotransmitter signalling in different areas of the brain in order to better underst and the neuromechanisms of its cognitive and emotional enhancing properties .
A placebo-controlled study of the modafinil added to risperidone in chronic schizophrenia
RationalIn recent years , evidence suggests that modafinil may be useful for certain symptom domains of schizophrenia , especially for the negative and cognitive symptoms . However , the results are not consistent . Objective This study was design ed to investigate the effect of modafinil added to risperidone in patients with chronic schizophrenia in a double blind and r and omized clinical trial . Methods Participants were in patients males ( 35 ) and females ( 11 ) , ages 20–49 years at two teaching psychiatric hospital in Iran . All patients were in the active phase of the illness and met DSM-IV-TR criteria for schizophrenia . Patients were allocated in a r and om fashion 23 patients to risperidone 6 mg/day plus modafinil 200 mg/day and 23 patients to risperidone 6 mg/day plus placebo . The principal measure of outcome was the positive and negative syndrome scale ( PANSS ) . Patients were assessed by a psychiatrist at baseline and after 2 , 4 , 6 and 8 weeks after the start of medication . Results The modafinil group had significantly greater improvement in the negative symptoms as well as PANSS total scores over the 8-week trial . Therapy with 200 mg/day of modafinil was well tolerated and no clinical ly important side effects were observed . Conclusion The present study indicates modafinil as a potential adjunctive treatment strategy for treatment of schizophrenia particularly the negative symptoms . Nevertheless , results of larger-controlled trials are needed before recommendation for broad clinical application can be made . This trial is registered with the Iranian Clinical Trials Registry ( I RCT 138903131556N16 )
A review of its effects in schizophrenia suggests that modafinil facilitates cognitive functions , with pro-mnemonic effects and problem solving improvements .
The systematic review on the neurochemical modulation of the modafinil suggests that its mnemonic enhancing properties might be the result of glutamatergic and dopaminergic increased neuronal activation in the hippocampus and in the prefrontal cortex respectively .
Other neurotransmitters were also activated by modafinil in various limbic brain areas , suggesting that the drug acts on these brain regions to influence emotional responses .
Modafinil is a central nervous system wake promoting agent used for the treatment of excessive daytime sleeping .
Its vigilance promoting properties and low abuse potential has intrigued the scientific community and has led to use it as a cognitive enhancer , before its neural functions were understood .
Here , we review the effects of modafinil in human cognition and emotion and its specific actions on symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and whether these are consistently effective throughout the literature .
We also performed a systematic review on the effects of modafinil on neurotransmitter signalling in different areas of the brain in order to better underst and the neuromechanisms of its cognitive and emotional enhancing properties .