Wake up and tune in

A drug originally designed to help soldiers stay awake during battle could also be used to boost brain power, according to Cambridge University researchers.

Modafinil, appears to improve cognitive functioning, without the side effects commonly experienced with mental stimulants, such as amphetamines, says team member Danielle Turner, of the Department of Psychiatry. Turner, working under Barbara Sahakian, studied the effects of Modafinil on sixty healthy young males by having them use touch-sensitive computer screens and easy-to-understand 'computer games' after administering either a placebo or Modafinil.

"In the study, the volunteers given Modafinil reported that they felt more alert, attentive and energetic on the drug. In addition, they performed significantly better at neuropsychological tests involving short-term memory and showed less impulsive responding and an increased tendency to reflect on the tasks they were given," Turner says. The research suggests that it may at last be possible to help patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), who suffer from problems of impulsivity which impairs their ability to plan and problem solve. The improvements in memory whilst on Modafinil suggest that it may be useful in other neuropsychiatric conditions, including Alzheimer's disease.

Barbara Sahakian

Modafinil is not thought to have the addictive potential of other cognitive enhancers, such as amphetamine and methylphenidate. "We do think it is a cognitive enhancer," Sahakian told Reactive Reports, "and we found no changes in diastolic blood pressure or pulse, but there were small changes in systolic blood pressure."

"Modafinil is currently being used clinically to treat patients with sleeping disorders like narcolepsy by altering the release of chemical agents called neurotransmitters in the brain," explains Turner, "In fact, Modafinil could revolutionize our current understanding of the way we form and retain memories because of its unique neurochemical mechanism of action in the brain."

The team plans to next study their volunteers using real-time brain scans while they play the computer games. The results may provide new insights into how the mind works.

Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2002 Nov 1