Comparing two compounds
Two compounds side by side: where they act, which neurotransmitter systems they affect, what they claim and what studies found.
Synaptik serves solely to explain biochemistry and pharmacology and is not medical advice or a recommendation to take anything.
Modafinil
Modafinil is a wakefulness-promoting agent (eugeroic) that in the EU is now approved only for daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy. It inhibits the dopamine transporter and thereby raises dopamine, including in the human brain. In well-rested healthy people, two meta-analyses of placebo-controlled studies show only small cognitive effects.
Better mental performance in healthy people Small benefit
Overall evidence
Methylphenidate
Methylphenidate is an approved stimulant for the treatment of ADHD and a controlled narcotic in Germany. In humans, it blocks both the dopamine and the noradrenaline transporter. In healthy people, meta-analyses show small improvements in individual performance measures such as recall, sustained attention, and inhibitory control.
Better mental performance in healthy people Small benefit
Overall evidence
Effect profiles compared
| System | Modafinil | Methylphenidate |
|---|---|---|
| Dopamine | ↑ enhanced Inhibits the dopamine transporter and increases extracellular dopamine, including in the nucleus accumbens (human, PET) | ↑ enhanced Extracellular dopamine raised in the striatum (human, PET, before-and-after comparison) |
| Noradrenaline | ≈ modulated Occupies noradrenaline transporters in the thalamus (rhesus monkey); noradrenaline itself not measured | ↑ enhanced Noradrenaline transporter occupied in humans (PET, placebo-controlled); noradrenaline raised in the prefrontal cortex (rat) |
| Serotonin | ○ no effect Hardly any inhibition of the serotonin transporter; serotonin in the nucleus accumbens unchanged (rat) | no data |
| Histamine | ↑ enhanced Histaminergic neurons in the tuberomammillary nucleus activated (Fos, rat) | no data |
| Orexin | ↑ enhanced Orexin neurons in the hypothalamus activated (Fos, rat); whether this mediates wakefulness is unresolved | no data |
Targets
- Dopamine transporter (DAT) · Inhibitor
- Noradrenaline transporter (NET) · Inhibitor
- CYP3A4/5 · Expression ↑
- CYP2C19 · Inhibitor
- Dopamine transporter (DAT) · Inhibitor
- Noradrenaline transporter (NET) · Inhibitor
Claims checked
- Better mental performance in healthy people Small benefit
- Better mental performance in healthy people Small benefit
Routes of administration
no data
no data