title: Effects of Modafinil on Behavioral Learning and Hippocampal Synaptic Transmission in Rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Modafinil is a wake-promoting agent that has been proposed to improve cognitive performance at the preclinical and clinical levels. Since there is insufficient evidence for modafinil to be regarded as a cognitive enhancer, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic modafinil administration on behavioral learning in healthy adult rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Y-maze training was used to assess learning performance, and the whole-cell patch clamp technique was used to assess synaptic transmission in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampal CA1 region of rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intraperitoneal administration of modafinil at 200 mg/kg or 300 mg/kg significantly improved learning performance. Furthermore, perfusion with 1mM modafinil enhanced the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous postsynaptic currents and spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents in CA1 pyramidal neurons in hippocampal slices. However, the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in CA1 pyramidal neurons were inhibited by treatment with 1mM modafinil.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that modafinil improves learning and memory in rats possibly by enhancing glutamatergic excitatory synaptic transmission and inhibiting GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acid-ergic) inhibitory synaptic transmission.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Wen
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7499-9852
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China.
authors.forename: Li-Hua
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4112-1920
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Jiangxi Science & Technology Normal University, Nanchang, China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Sport Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Xia
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chu-Hua
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jun-Ni
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: School of Sport Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Yi
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3697-6534
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: CA1 Region, Hippocampal; Learning; Modafinil; Synaptic Potentials; Synaptic Transmission