Acute Effects of Modafinil on Brain Resting State Networks in Young Healthy Subjects

Abstract

BackgroundThere is growing debate on the use of drugs that promote cognitive enhancement. Amphetamine-like drugs have been employed as cognitive enhancers, but they show important side effects and induce addiction. In this study, we investigated the use of modafinil which appears to have less side effects compared to other amphetamine-like drugs. We analyzed effects on cognitive performances and brain resting state network activity of 26 healthy young subjects.MethodologyA single dose (100 mg) of modafinil was administered in a double-blind and placebo-controlled study. Both groups were tested for neuropsychological performances with the Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices II set (APM) before and three hours after administration of drug or placebo. Resting state functional magnetic resonance (rs-FMRI) was also used, before and after three hours, to investigate changes in the activity of resting state brain networks. Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was employed to evaluate differences in structural connectivity between the two groups. Protocol ID: Modrest_2011; NCT01684306; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01684306.Principal FindingsResults indicate that a single dose of modafinil improves cognitive performance as assessed by APM. Rs-fMRI showed that the drug produces a statistically significant increased activation of Frontal Parietal Control (FPC; p<0.04) and Dorsal Attention (DAN; p<0.04) networks. No modifications in structural connectivity were observed.Conclusions and SignificanceOverall, our findings support the notion that modafinil has cognitive enhancing properties and provide functional connectivity data to support these effects.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01684306 http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01684306.

Alpha power oscillation in the frontal cortex under Bromazepam and Modafinil effects

“…Modafinil has already been used for the treatment of narcolepsy and other sleep disorders 8,9,10 . In recent years, psychostimulants have been used to promote cognitive enhancement, since they help the performace in areas such as attention and memory 11 . Previous studies have shown that this drug can significantly improve the performance in tests for executive functions, such as working memory, cognitive flexibility and planning, in healthy volunteers who were not sleep deprived 8 .…”

Modafinil Alters Intrinsic Functional Connectivity of the Right Posterior Insula: A Pharmacological Resting State fMRI Study

“…In a previous study, we have found that a single dose administration of modafinil does not modify SN activity [14]. However, previous findings indicate that the anterior insula, a major SN hub [15], is activated by modafinil in methamphetamine addicts who were undergoing a reversal learning task [13].…”

“…In a previous study, we have observed that healthy young individuals, after modafinil administration, showed improvement in fluid reasoning as measured with Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) [14], [27]. Previous imaging studies have indicated that SN nodes, i.e.…”

Effects of non-pharmacological or pharmacological interventions on cognition and brain plasticity of aging individuals

“…Elderly people who regularly exercise show brain volumes increases by ~2% in these critical areas while age-matched individuals who are less physically active undergo a 1.4% decrease in volumes (Erickson et al, 2010, 2011; Esposito et al, 2013). …”