]> http://www.jefallbright.net/taxonomy/term/830/0 en http://www.jefallbright.net/node/2498 <p>Modafinil</p> Modafinil Sun, 25 Apr 2004 16:09:49 -0400 http://www.jefallbright.net/node/3182 <p>A new class of drug may increase alertness without any of the jitteriness of over-stimulation, suggest the results of a small clinical trial released this week.</p> <p>A compound dubbed CX717, a member of the new class called ampakines, significantly improved performance on tests of memory, attention, alertness, reaction time and problem solving in healthy men deprived of sleep.</p> <p>The study was carried out by Julia Boyle at the Sleep Research Centre at the University of Surrey, UK, and her colleagues on behalf of Cortex Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Irvine, California, US.</p> Aging and life extension Biotechnology Cognitive science Human augmentation Intelligence amplification Learning Memory Mental enhancement Modafinil Neurobiology of aging Sleep Technology Transhumanism Well-being Efficiency Extropy Fri, 06 May 2005 11:41:17 -0400 http://www.jefallbright.net/node/3015 <p>It would be hard to imagine improving on the intelligence of computer engineer Bjoern Stenger, a doctoral candidate at Cambridge University. Yet for several hours, a pill seemed to make him even brainier.</p> <p>Participating in a research project, Stenger downed a green gelatin cap containing a drug called modafinil. Within an hour, his attention sharpened. So did his memory. He aced a series of mental-agility tests. If his brainpower would normally rate a 10, the drug raised it to 15, he said.</p> <p>"I was quite focused," said Stenger. "It was also kind of fun."</p> <p>The age of smart drugs is dawning. Modafinil is just one in an array of brain-boosting medications — some already on pharmacy shelves and others in development — that promise an era of sharper thinking through chemistry.</p> <p>These drugs may change the way we think. And by doing so, they may change who we are.</p> <p>Long-haul truckers and Air Force pilots have long popped amphetamines to ward off drowsiness. Generations of college students have swallowed over-the-counter caffeine tablets to get through all-nighters. But such stimulants provide only a temporary edge, and their effect is broad and blunt — they boost the brain by juicing the entire nervous system.</p> <p>The new mind-enhancing drugs, in contrast, hold the potential for more powerful, more targeted and more lasting improvements in mental acuity. Some of the most promising have reached the stage of testing in human subjects and could become available in the next decade, brain scientists say.</p> Biotechnology Cognitive science Human augmentation Intelligence Intelligence amplification Memory Mental enhancement Military Modafinil Nootropics Sleep Technology Technology and Society Efficiency Extropy Tue, 21 Dec 2004 10:54:05 -0500 http://www.jefallbright.net/node/2509 Google search: "modafinil" Modafinil Sun, 25 Apr 2004 16:26:17 -0400