In humans, modafinil appears to improve cognitive functioning in sleep-deprived subjects, notably on letter and number span tests and measures of response inhibition

Increased Energy

As a nootropic, Modafinil Australia is hailed for its ability to increase energy and alertness. Its wake-promoting effects match stimulants like amphetamine and methylphenidate but without the same negative side effects such as addiction and dependence.

It does so by enhancing the activity of several brain chemicals and neurotransmitters, including dopamine, serotonin, and histamine, as well as glutamate and GABA. Modafinil has also been shown to promote cognitive performance in several studies. In one 2003 trial, participants who took Modafinil scored higher on digit span and visual recognition tests than those who took a placebo.

They also showed less impulsivity when taking the drug. Another study compared the effect of Modafinil to that of methylphenidate in chess players, finding that both drugs improved performance, but that Modafinil was associated with greater concentration and attention.

Modafinil has been shown to increase extracellular dopamine in the prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus, as well as dopamine uptake in these regions. It also increases the release of norepinephrine from adrenergic neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex, and it promotes the synaptic uptake of glutamate in these neurons. However, it does not appear to affect the synthesis or vesicular storage of either glutamate or GABA.

In addition, Modafinil enhances electrically evoked (5HT) but not spontaneous (5HT) efflux in frontal cortical slices. It also increases the amount of acetyl-CoA formed in frontal cortex pyramidal cells, but not acetylcholine, as measured by 2D COSY 1H-NMR spectroscopy (Marek and Aghajanian, 1999).

Better Memory

Modafinil has been shown to improve performance on a variety of cognitive tasks. These improvements seem to relate to its central histaminergic effects. Histamine is a monoamine that can interact with acetylcholine in the prefrontal cortex, thus modulating cognitive processes. In one study, modafinil increased digit span and sustained attention tasks, both of which require vigilance.

A similar result was obtained with a single dose of 200 mg Modawake 200 in another study (Randall et al, 2005b). Modafinil has also been shown to enhance memory and cognitive control in psychiatric patients. In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial of 20 stable chronic schizophrenia patients, modafinil significantly improved performance on delayed match-to-sample and Tower of London tests, as well as visual recognition memory.

These patients also made fewer errors on a version of the interdimensional/extradimensional shift (ID/ED) task, which requires fronto-cortical set-shifting and is strongly modulated by ascending histamine systems (Passani et al, 2000).

In addition to improving working memory in psychiatric populations, modafinil has been shown to improve performance in normal subjects under conditions of stress. In a sleep-deprived fMRI study, modafinil enhanced working memory and associated cortical activation, whereas placebo did not (Thomas and Kwong, 2006).

This effect was not seen in a placebo-controlled trial of sleep-deprived emergency physicians. These data suggest that modulation of HA in the prefrontal cortex may be a common mechanism for the cognitive enhancements of modafinil observed in different psychiatric disorders.

Reduced Stress

Touted as the first well-validated pharmaceutical nootropic drug, Modafinil improves performance on many cognitive tasks. It has a lower liability to abuse and less risk of side effects than other stimulants. This makes it attractive for a variety of medical and psychiatric conditions currently treated with stimulants, such as various fatigue syndromes and treatment-resistant depression.

A few studies have also shown that modafinil reduces stress-induced performance deficits. One study found that modafinil improved working memory processes in rats exposed to the stressor of immobilization or light exposure. Modafinil significantly increased the time it took for the animals to perform a delayed nonmatching to position task and decreased plasma corticosterone levels, which are inversely related to working memory performance (Ward et al, 2004).

Another study tested the effect of modafinil on healthy adults who were sleep-deprived. The results showed that single doses of 400 mg of modafinil reduced errors on the Wisconsin Card Sort Test and interference on the Stroop task compared to placebo, and were comparable to 600 mg of caffeine and 20 mg of amphetamine (Wesensten et al, 2006).

Although everyone needs a good eight hours of sleep a night, sometimes it's just not possible. In this case, the military has developed a "go pill" called Modafinil, which is used to maintain alertness, enhance judgment, and increase risk perception in sleep-deprived pilots and soldiers on lengthy missions.