Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Cognitive Science

Neuroscience study indicates the narcolepsy drug modafinil enhances cognitive control in healthy people

by Eric W. Dolan
September 9, 2020
in Cognitive Science, Psychopharmacology

[Subscribe to PsyPost on YouTube to stay up-to-date on the latest developments in psychology and neuroscience]

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The drug modafinil, which was developed to treat narcolepsy (excessive sleeping), appears to enhance some cognitive functions according to a new randomized double-blind study published in Neuropsychopharmacology.

“An essential function of executive processes is the cognitive control of interferences by distracting and conflicting information to facilitate goal-directed behavior in everyday life,” said study author Benjamin Becker, a professor at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and member of the neuSCAN Lab.

“Impairments in this cardinal cognitive domain have been demonstrated across major psychiatric disorders such as depression, and often persist after recovery thus leading to long-term impairments in everyday life. The conventional psychopharmacological treatments often allow to control the affective symptoms of psychiatric disorders, yet do not improve the cognitive deficits.”

“During recent years pharmacological means to enhance cognitive performance (via cognitive enhancers, a.k.a. neuroenhancers) have been increasingly advocated as novel strategy to improve cognitive functioning in psychiatric disorders. Accumulating evidence suggests that modafinil – an approved medication for narcolepsy – can improve cognitive control in healthy subjects and psychiatric patients,”

“However, cognitive control regulates not only other cognitive functions but also emotional functions. For instance, emotional conflict processing is vital for everyday life, such that threatening or social-emotional stimuli convey important information to redirect our attention and effects of cognitive enhancers on these emotional processes may interfere with everyday functioning,” Becker explained.

In the study, 72 healthy, male participants were randomly assigned to receive either 200 mg of modafinil or placebo before completed assessments of cognitive and emotional conflict processing. The researchers also used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor their brain activity during the tasks.

“We found that, compared to placebo, modafinil specifically enhanced cognitive conflict performance and concomitantly increased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus and its functional communication with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Both prefrontal brain regions are key nodes in the cognitive control network and higher activation in these regions may underpin the improved control of cognitive conflict after modafinil administration,” Becker told PsyPost.

“In contrast, we did not observe effects of modafinil on emotional conflict processing, suggesting highly specific effects on cognitive conflict processing. We additionally assessed whether modafinil affected the subjective perception of performance via ratings and a metacognitive task and found that modafinil enhanced objective cognitive performance but did not affect subjective performance perception or affective state.”

Jialin Li, the first author of the study, added that “this is particular interesting because the lack of effects of modafinil on subjective experience suggests that it does not simply promote self-confidence or motivation but cognitive performance.”

“Overall, our findings suggest that modafinil has the potential to enhance cognitive control processes while leaving emotional processes unaffected. The pattern of cognitive enhancing effects in the absence of effects on affective process suggests a promising candidate to selectively improve cognitive control in healthy and clinical populations,” Becker said.

Future research should examine the drug’s effects in women and those with cognitive deficits, he added.

Modafinil has been used by students to boost their ability to study and improve their chances of exam success. But the drug’s overall effectiveness as a cognitive enhancer is still unclear.

“The overarching aim of our study was to determine whether modafinil might be a suitable adjunct treatment to enhance cognitive control in neuropsychiatric patients. However, putative cognitive enhancers including modafinil are increasingly used as ‘smart drugs’ by healthy individuals in lifestyle contexts or to enhance performance in academic or other competitive contexts,” Becker said.

“Whereas our findings suggest a promising potential of modafinil to selectively enhance cognitive performance while not affecting emotional processes, effects of longer-term use and potential detrimental effects in other domains remain unknown.”

The study, “Modafinil enhances cognitive, but not emotional conflict processing via enhanced inferior frontal gyrus activation and its communication with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex“, was authored by Jialin Li, Xi Yang, Feng Zhou, Congcong Liu, Zhenyu Wei, Fei Xin, Bianca Daumann, Jörg Daumann, Keith M. Kendrick, and Benjamin Becker.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin13Send

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

Toxoplasma gondii parasite infection linked to cognitive deterioration in schizophrenia

People are less satisfied with their marriage when their partner is not interested in social interactions, study finds

Narcissism and mental health in relationships: Surprising results revealed in new psychology study

Sleep effort mediates the relationship between anxiety and depression, study finds

New research shows link between tropical vacations and improved mental health

Pro-female and anti-male biases are more influential than race and other factors in Implicit Association Tests

RECENT

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Pro-female and anti-male biases are more influential than race and other factors in Implicit Association Tests

Toxoplasma gondii parasite infection linked to cognitive deterioration in schizophrenia

New research shows link between tropical vacations and improved mental health

Narcissism and mental health in relationships: Surprising results revealed in new psychology study

Sleep effort mediates the relationship between anxiety and depression, study finds

Masks hinder our ability to recognize facial expressions of sadness and fear

New research suggests populism and conspiracy mentality are both rooted in a fundamental disposition of distrust

Currently Playing

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Are you a frequent apologizer? New research indicates you might actually reap downstream benefits

Social Psychology
People with dark personality traits are better at finding novel ways to cause damage or harm others

People with dark personality traits are better at finding novel ways to cause damage or harm others

Dark Triad
Exercising in nature produces psychological benefits and measurable changes in brain activity

Exercising in nature produces psychological benefits and measurable changes in brain activity

Cognitive Science
People with social anxiety tend to engage in restrictive “safety behaviors” that make them less likable, study finds

People with social anxiety tend to engage in restrictive “safety behaviors” that make them less likable, study finds

Anxiety
Study helps untangle the complicated relationship between psychopathy and emotional awareness

Study helps untangle the complicated relationship between psychopathy and emotional awareness

Psychopathy
People exposed to phubbing by their romantic partner are less satisfied with their romantic relationship

People exposed to phubbing by their romantic partner are less satisfied with their romantic relationship

Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology

About

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. (READ MORE...)

  • Contact us
  • Privacy policy

Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.