ArticleNeuropsychiatric disease and treatment2007
Mechanisms of modafinil: A review of current research.
Article in Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, 2007. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 143 citations in OpenAlex.
- The wake of addiction: Pharmacological strategies for sleep disturbances in stimulant use disorders, a systematic review.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2026Pooled it
- Randomised controlled cognition trials in remitted patients with mood disorders published between 2015 and 2021: A systematic review by the International Society for Bipolar Disorders Targeting Cognition Task Force.Bipolar disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Pharmacological interventions for apathy in Alzheimer's disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Lessons Learned From a Delayed-Start Trial of Modafinil for Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2026Trial
- ESTREL-Fatigue-association of levodopa with post-stroke fatigue.European stroke journal · 2026Trial
- Central nervous system effects of the histamine-3 receptor antagonist CEP-26401, in comparison with modafinil and donepezil, after a single dose in a cross-over study in healthy volunteers.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Evaluation of modafinil's neuroprotective effects in lipopolysaccharide-induced sepsis-associated encephalopathy: associations with GSK3β, inflammatory, oxidative stress, and apoptotic signaling.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Validation in Drosophila of the in silico predicted clomipramine as repurposable for SOD1-ALS.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026Article
- A Mini-review on Unlocking Cognitive Enhancement: An Innovative Strategy for Optimal Brain Functions.Central nervous system agents in medicinal chemistry · 2026Review
- Pharmacological Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Comprehensive Review of Mechanisms and Efficacy.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Article
- Modafinil for Promoting Wakefulness in Critically Ill Patients: Current Evidence and Perspectives.Clocks & sleep · 2025Review
- Focus on Cognitive Enhancement: A Narrative Overview of Nootropics and "Smart Drug" Use and Misuse.Biology · 2025Review
- Mathematical modeling of dopamine rhythms and timing of dopamine reuptake inhibitors.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- TAK-861, a potent, orally available orexin receptor 2-selective agonist, produces wakefulness in monkeys and improves narcolepsy-like phenotypes in mouse models.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Restoring consciousness with pharmacologic therapy: Mechanisms, targets, and future directions.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2024Review
- Pharmacological Treatments for Methamphetamine Use Disorder: Current Status and Future Targets.Substance abuse and rehabilitation · 2024Review
- Neurological Insights into Sleep Disorders in Parkinson's Disease.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Modafinil Improves Autism-like Behavior in Rats by Reducing Neuroinflammation.Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology · 2023Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The novel wake-promoting agent modafinil has been in use for the treatment of several sleep disorders for a few years and is now undergoing clinical trials for its use in the treatment of stimulant addiction, but its primary mechanism of action remains elusive. Previous laboratory studies have shown that modafinil has antioxidative and neuroprotective effects, which have not previously been suggested to be related to its wake-promoting effects. However, recent research indicates that free radicals may be related to sleep induction as well as cellular damage, suggesting that a common target of action may mediate modafinil's ability to oppose both of these effects. In this review we summarize and discuss previously published research on modafinil's neural, cytoprotective, and cognitive effects, and we propose possible primary biochemical targets that could underlie the effects of modafinil observed in these studies. We also suggest neurocognitive mechanisms responsible for modafinil's cognitive enhancing effects and its therapeutic potential in the treatment of stimulant addiction.
Indexed as
Identifiers
19300566PMC2654794W1883830744What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.