In conclusion , a number of new active drugs were found to improve some cognitive functions , in particular verbal episodic memory .
Pharmacological cognitive enhancement refers to improvement in cognitive functions after drug use in healthy individuals .
This popular topic attracts attention both from the general public and the scientific community .
The objective was to explore innovative mechanisms of psychostimulant 's action , whose potential effectiveness was assessed in r and omized placebo-controlled trials ( RCTs ) .
Antiparkinsonian drug-induced sleepiness: a double-blind placebo-controlled study of L-dopa, bromocriptine and pramipexole in healthy subjects.
AIMS To assess the sleepiness induced by pramipexole , a D2/D3-dopamine receptor agonist commonly used in Parkinson 's disease and restless legs syndrome , without the problem of the confounding factors related to the disease . METHODS Placebo , bromocriptine ( 2.5 mg ) , L-dopa ( 100 mg ) and pramipexole ( 0.5 mg ) were administered in a single oral dose on four separate days , with at least a 2-week wash-out period in a r and omized cross-over design . Induced somnolence was assessed using Multiple Sleep Latency Test ( MSLT ) and subjective scaling of vigilance .  Twelve male subjects ( 26.3 + /- 5.5 years old ) without anxiety , mood , sleep or sedation disorders were enrolled . RESULTS Pramipexole significantly reduced mean sleep latency compared with placebo 3 h 30 min [ -6.1 min ( -9.8 , -2.4 ) , P = 0.002 ] and 5 h 30 min [ -5.6 min ( -7.7 , -3.5 ) , P = 0.003 ] after administration . In addition , the total duration of sleep during the tests was higher with pramipexole than with placebo [ + 6.0 min ( 2.3 , 9.7 ) , P < 0.001 ] . These differences were not observed with L-dopa and bromocriptine in comparison with placebo . The induced sleepiness was not associated with an increase in subjective somnolence scaling , indicating that this adverse event may occur without prior warning . CONCLUSIONS These results show that a single oral dose of pramipexole induces sleepiness as assessed by MSLT in healthy young subjects , independent of disease-related sleep dysfunction
In conclusion , a number of new active drugs were found to improve some cognitive functions , in particular verbal episodic memory .
Pharmacological cognitive enhancement refers to improvement in cognitive functions after drug use in healthy individuals .
This popular topic attracts attention both from the general public and the scientific community .
The objective was to explore innovative mechanisms of psychostimulant 's action , whose potential effectiveness was assessed in r and omized placebo-controlled trials ( RCTs ) .