Modafinil induces wakefulness, but its dopamine-releasing action in the nucleus accumbens is weak and dose-dependent; no likelihood of euphoric response ('abuse potential').
Modafinil has made it possible to have 48 hours of continuous wakefulness with few, if any, ill effects. New classes of sleeping pills are on the horizon that promise to deliver sleep that is deeper and more refreshing than the real thing. Further down th
Modafinil has changed the rules of the game. The drug is what's known as a eugeroic, meaning "good arousal" in Greek. It delivers natural-feeling alertness and wakefulness without the powerful physical and mental jolt that earlier stimulants delivered. "T
Eugeroic = “good arousal." Unique class of drugs (adrafinil, modafinil). Like adaptogens (ginseng), only “stimulate when stimulation is required.” Highs and lows associated with other stimulants (amphetamine, etc) are absent with eugeroics.
Ampakines capable of improving cognition by enhancing brain activity under normal circumstances may also have the potential to reduce the harmful or unwanted effects of sleep deprivation. (CX717 by Cortex Pharmaceuticals)
Armodafinil (Nuvigil®) is an eugeroic drug made by Cephalon, FDA-approved 6/15/2007. Clinical trials for its use in bipolar disorder, cognition in schizophrenia, excessive fatigue in Parkinson's & cancer, begin. Patent expires 2023.
Even the lowest dose of modafinil, an ampakine, improved the wakefulness and cognitive performance of sleep-deprived people; they work in part by boosting glutamate, a key neurotransmitter that facilitates learning & learn and encodes memory.
For narcolepsy, or off-label for depression, night-shift work, ADHD/ADD...a prodrug, metabolizes to modafinil (Provigil®), resulting in nearly identical pharmacological effects, takes 45-60 minutes to reach active levels in bloodstream.