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 .
Effects of Modafinil on Emotional Processing in First Episode Psychosis
BACKGROUND Emotional impairments are important determinants of functional outcome in psychosis , and current treatments are not particularly effective . Modafinil is a wake-promoting drug that has been shown to improve emotion discrimination in healthy individuals and attention and executive function in schizophrenia . We aim ed to establish whether modafinil might have a role in the adjuvant treatment of emotional impairments in the first episode of psychosis , when therapeutic endeavor is arguably most vital . METHODS Forty patients with a first episode of psychosis participated in a r and omized , double-blind , placebo-controlled crossover design study testing the effects of a single dose of 200 mg modafinil on neuropsychological performance . Emotional functions were evaluated with the  emotional face recognition test  , the  affective go-no go task  , and the  reward and punishment learning test . Visual analogue scales were used throughout the study to assess subjective mood changes . RESULTS Modafinil significantly improved the recognition of sad facial expressions ( z = 2.98 , p = .003 ) . In contrast , there was no effect of modafinil on subjective mood ratings , on tasks measuring emotional sensitivity to reward or punishment , or on interference of emotional valence on cognitive function , as measured by the affective go-no go task . CONCLUSIONS Modafinil improves the analysis of emotional face expressions . This might enhance social function in people with a first episode of psychosis
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 .