Modafinil was originally developed to treat narcolepsy, but it's often used off-label as a "smart pill." Past studies have shown that it improves people's ability to concentrate when they're sleep-deprived. However, these tests tend to be very basic.
Increased Focus
Many people take substances like caffeine to boost their brainpower and concentration. Neuroscientist Anjan Chatterjee worries that this trend will eventually lead to the practice of taking smart pills developed for medical conditions – which he calls ‘pharmaceutical neuroenhancement’ – to sharpen everyday cognition.
A new study suggests that Modalert 200 Australia – a smart pill developed to treat sleep disorders – does in fact improve attention, memory, and learning in healthy, non-sleep-deprived adults. Moreover, it enhances a certain type of flexibility and creativity in tasks – a finding that could have profound ethical implications.
Improved Memory
People have been trying to boost their brainpower for all of history, and the latest research reveals that smart pills developed to treat narcolepsy such as Modafinil 200 mg offer cognitive enhancement benefits.
A few studies have shown that single doses of stimulants like caffeine, Armodafinil, and Modafinil can improve performance on certain memory tests. However, the improvement observed is often small and specific to the particular test.
A study by researchers at the University of Oxford found that cognition-enhancing smart pills offer bigger benefits to people with lower IQs, and it could lead to a more unequal society. The question of whether healthy adults should be allowed to take these smart pills for non-medical purposes is still very much up in the air.
Increased Mental Energy
The decades-long search for a "smart pill" has finally nailed down the first proven cognitive enhancer. Modafinil, developed to treat narcolepsy and sleep apnea, heightens alertness similar to how caffeine does. But in tests of non-sleep-deprived healthy people, it also improves attention and learning.
It works by stopping nerve cells from reabsorbing dopamine, an excitatory chemical after it's released into synapses. This gives healthy people a surge of energy and concentration, without the "highs and lows" associated with other stimulants.
However, it's unclear whether the same effects work in people with mental illnesses like schizophrenia. Studies on the subject have been inconsistent, possibly because the cognitive test batteries differ in sensitivity or because of the phase of illness. Researchers hope that future research into other smart pills not yet available will lead to a better understanding of how these substances can help people think.
Increased Creativity
Research has shown that Modafinil improves planning, decision-making, flexibility, and learning. It also increases creativity. In fact, there is a growing movement in the biohacking community to use smart pills like Modafinil and other prescription stimulants as well as over-the-counter supplements such as Phosphatidylserine for cognitive enhancement. However, these types of cognitive enhancements raise ethical concerns. They may create unfair advantages for people who use them.
a study in the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that this smart pill decreases creativity and flexibility in thinking for high performers while increasing it for people who perform at a lower level. This is similar to what we find with methylphenidate, which also improves cognition in low performers but reduces performance in high performers.
Increased Self-Awareness
Aside from its off-label use to treat narcolepsy and sleep apnea, modafinil heightens alertness much as caffeine does. But it also seems to improve cognitive ability, at least on certain tests. This relates to how quickly the brain can shift attention between tasks, a skill that is essential for work and study.
In one experiment, volunteers undergoing simulated night-shift work performed better on a version of the digit span test and a task that requires attention-shifting when given 200 mg of modafinil than when they received a placebo. Modafinil improved accuracy without a trade-off in reaction time.
However, these results need to be validated and repeated. Also, the basic tests used in these experiments assess only a small sub-component of cognition. More complex tests will be necessary to determine if cognitive enhancers truly make you smarter.
