Many doctors use modafinil to stay awake and focused on work after sleepless nights. However, the drug isn’t without risk.
In one study, Buy Modafinil Online was shown to improve performance on a spatial working memory task. It significantly reduced search errors, particularly on the harder six moves stockings of the Cambridge task (Fig. 1).
Improved Concentration
In a study that examined cognitive performance in people with different mental illnesses, researchers found that modafinil improved what’s called executive function. This includes the ability to sift through new information and make plans based on it. It also enhances memory and learning.
Several studies of healthy people have also shown that modafinil increases concentration. However, the drug doesn’t help improve arithmetic or other simple tasks requiring working memory. In addition, it may increase the speed of response but doesn’t seem to improve accuracy. In one behavioral study, modafinil increased chess players’ moves per minute by about 50%, but they still lost more games than those taking a placebo (Mohamed 2012a).
A study of 20 clinically stable chronic schizophrenia patients who received add-on modafinil for 8 weeks showed modest improvements in the WCST and Stroop interference task but did not affect other behavioral cognitive measures.
Another double-blind study of 24 people with narcolepsy who received either 400 or 600 mg modafinil per day showed that both doses reduced errors on the WCST and improved prefrontal-dependent measures in the Stroop test.
Modafinil appears to enhance cognitive performance in healthy sleep-deprived people by acting on glutamate receptors, increasing synthesis and decreasing reuptake, and inhibiting adrenergic activity. In addition, it increases levels of acetyl-aspartate and creatine-phosphocreatine (a precursor to energy) in the brain and decreases levels of ammonium ions.
Better Memory
Modalert Tablet can help people with certain memory functions, including remembering new information and planning, according to a recent study. The drug, which is prescribed for sleep disorders but often used by students to improve their performance on tests, is thought to enhance cognitive abilities by altering how the brain processes information.
This effect appears to be strongest in areas associated with working memory, but it may also improve the ability to switch between tasks and the flexibility of thinking.
In one 2003 trial, participants took modafinil or placebo while performing a series of memory-related tasks, such as digit span and visual recognition. Those taking modafinil showed better performance in these tests, as well as fewer errors on a test that measures impulsiveness and decision-making.
Another trial, comparing modafinil with methylphenidate and caffeine in chess players, found that both drugs improved chess performance, but only if it was combined with more time spent analyzing each move and less time devoted to impulsive decisions.
A single dose of modafinil significantly increases a rat’s learning capacity in a delayed nonmatching-to-position task, and this enhancement is associated with increased activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (Thomas and Kwong, 2006).
fMRI experiments have also shown that a daily dose of modafinil improves human working memory performance in a sleep-deprived environment, accompanied by a reduction in error rate and left BA 46 activity, which measures conflict processing.
Increased Attention
The ability to concentrate and focus on tasks is a key skill for success in many occupations. The pressure to outperform others in the workplace can be enormous, and there is a lot of competition for jobs that require attention. Modafinil can help people improve their attention skills and increase their productivity.
Studies have shown that modafinil increases performance on tasks that require rapid response times, such as a serial reversal discrimination task in mice. Daily administration of modafinil enhances learning acquisition compared to placebo and modulates c-Fos activation in the anterior cingulate cortex, and in the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (Krazem et al, 1995; Meunier et al, 1991).
Modafinil has also been shown to dose-dependently improve performance on a cognitive conflict task, by enhancing choice behavior towards cognitively incongruent distractors and associated inferior frontal gyrus activity. At the same time, confidence indices were unaffected.
Modafinil induced a selective improvement in cognitive conflict processing but not in emotional conflict processing, suggesting that the drug enhances the recruitment of a cognitive control network during cognitive conflict.
In healthy individuals, a single dose of modafinil 100 mg significantly improved performance on the digit span task and on visual memory, spatial planning, and one-touch Stockings of Cambridge (SSRT) computerized test of working memory and inhibition of pre-potent responding.
It did not, however, have effects on a variety of other cognitive enhancing tasks, and this may be due to ceiling effects in the study population. Nonetheless, these results suggest that, when used under clinical conditions, modafinil could potentially improve alertness and performance in shift-work, or in people with sleep disorders.
Better Focus
Known as the “smart drug,” Modafinil has gained popularity in recent years for its ability to improve focus in healthy people. It is approved by the FDA to treat sleep disorders, but many use it off-label to help them study or power through long work days.
Online blogs glow with tales of unwavering concentration and superhuman levels of energy. Unfortunately, this focus comes at a price: many people who use Modafinil report negative side effects such as insomnia and nausea.
Even if the drug does help you perform better on long, complex tasks, it may not improve your ability to understand different viewpoints or make decisions, according to some studies.
While it might be tempting to take a smart drug like Modafinil to learn a language, the increased energy and focus might make you more distracted. If you want to learn a new language, it’s best to skip the nootropics and stick with getting enough rest and practicing regularly. Piracetam appears to be good for building vocabulary and improving comprehension, while Modafinil might help study grammar and absorb new information.
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