title: Interest of modafinil, a new psychostimulant, during a sixty-hour sleep deprivation experiment.
abstract: Modafinil, a new psychostimulant, was evaluated in eight healthy volunteers subjected to 60 hours of sleep deprivation. During continued wakefulness, vigilance was evaluated by self-assessment questionnaires, analogue visual scales, multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT), sleep logs, and continuous ambulatory electroencephalographic recordings (EEG). Modafinil (200 mg) or a placebo was given every 8 hours for three days; the sessions were separated by a 15 day wash out period. Results indicated a satisfactory level of vigilance, both subjective and objective, after the administration of modafinil, characterised by the quasi total absence of microsleep episodes which gradually occurred under placebo conditions. The confirmed wakening potency of modafinil makes this substance suitable for therapeutic use in patients with sleep disorders such as Gelineau's syndrome and hypersomnia.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Médecine Aérospatiale (Imassa-Cerma), Département Sciences Cognitives et Ergonomie, Brétigny-sur-Orge, France.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lagarde
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Batejat
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Beers
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sarafian
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pradella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000077408:Modafinil; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012890:Sleep / Q000187:drug effects; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D000077408:Modafinil