Modafinil-Induced Changes in Functional Connectivity of Healthy Elderly Subjects
journal.frontiersin.org
journal.frontiersin.org
For those unfamiliar, a healthy brain has what is called neurovascular coupling where the amount of blood flow into local clusters of neurons (order of millimeters) is adjusted based on demand (order of seconds). Simple optimization strategy. With MRI T2* imaging we are able to measure blood flow because the ratio of oxy-/deoxy-hemoglobin subtly alters the magnetic field. So if you take a picture of the brain every 2 seconds you get "blood flow" and if the average signal in 2 areas have a similar shape, we say they are "functionally connected." Just good to keep in mind because it's an area of research particularly prone to misunderstanding.
not so hard to understand:
The "functional" is because these analysis were usually applied to a specific task condition, thus function specific.
"similar shape" or "connectivity" is operationalized by correlation, though there are many other ways.
Do you guys honestly feel that you're not smart or concentrated enough? Or are you just trying to improve these traits to the max and beyond because they're considered to be virtious in the culture around you?
> If you have “an Everest of work”, the solution is to get less work, not to take drugs. Be the person you are.
Did anyone doubt this at the start of the study? I bet Tylenol modulates cortico-cerebellar connectivity. Pretty weak conclusion. I hate to be so critical, but I'm not sure what is added. Drawing real-world implications is likely impossible, which admittedly may not have been the authors' goal.
Getting work done while feeling ill is more, not less difficult!
Study participants received a single-dose of modafinil or a placebo pill.
All subjects then underwent two fMRI scans, performed before and 3 h after
drug (or placebo) administration.I would love it if someone more knowledgeable of neuroscience explained what this meant and what the potential implications could be.
But I guess if you need to be working 14 hours/if you don't have a choice, then do what you gotta do.
If you insist on being a slave, be sure to charge at max for the finite hours you are selling, three to four times your normal rate beyond 7.5. And here is something you think you knew but don't: Young time is more precious than old time. Each hour before 35 is worth 3 hours after 35. This because experiences are new, senses are heightened, live is intense.
Take it from a retired high priest: Don't burn your life on this altar of bullshit.
>implying he isn't enjoying it
This is a depressing comment. Can you not have new, high intensity experiences past age 35? Is losing this an inherent part of aging? Or do many just choose to avoid new experiences after a certain point?
I will also likely have acquired more financial resources and additional connections with like minded folks, which should enable interesting projects and adventures.
I'm basing this largely on how the past 5 years have gone, and the understanding I have developed during that time (from age 22 to 27). I also fully reserve the right to adjust this forecast 5 years from now :)
For example, I make money off my own projects, I travel, I have some form of ADD, and I like to batch some of my work into 12 hour binges with the help of some medication like amphetamine.
I love my life, I don't work every day, I don't binge every day. "Work" doesn't always mean you're burning yourself on someone's pyre.
I hope you find something more fulfilling if the mere thought of 8+ hours of work must mean your are "missing the point of living".
I also have ADD & tried Modafinil as an alternative. My doctor prescribed me 200MG as well, and it gave me splitting headaches and, until I learned to eat first, stomach aches. My doctor suggested I try 50 MGs & 100MGs instead, which didn't give me headaches but, well, just weren't as effective for me. So I went back to the old meds.
Also, Modafinil, IME, isn't like other ADD meds. Unlike, eg, Adderall or Vyvanse, doesn't keep me awake or alert, or replace caffeine. But, obviously this varies, since modafinil is also prescribed for narcolepsy & other people here clearly have a different experience with it.
Basically, chemistry varies for each of us--and there are many variables, including metabolism, medical history, weight, what your diet is, whether & what you've eaten, and so much more. Going to the doctor is not only safer, its more efficient.
I have seen many good results with modafinil and elderly patients who are not waking up well status post stroke. It doesn't always work, especially if the stroke was huge, but there is something very heartwarming about worried family members becoming ecstatic when their loved one wakes up and people are hugging you in gratitude for prescribing it :' )
FYI, Modafininil is approved for narcolepsy. It is used sometimes for ADHD, but that is an off-label use, and it's usually not used as a first-line treatment.
You started with the premises that there was a legitimate way to fill my prescription cheaper.
And, no, buying from an unregulated pharmacy was never "worth it" to me, that's why I didn't do it even though it was an option.
I don't know what their sources were for that, and it seems likely the doctors would be very conservative in prescribing experimental drugs, so there was probably an abundance of caution in play there. That said, the long-term side effects really are not well understood at all, so I'd think twice before making a regular habit of modafinil use.
My next batch I went for 200mg's to see how that affected me. Made me super moody, fidgety and I would get agitated when something didn't go right for me straight away. 100mg seems to be the right amount for me. Everyone else I asked about 200mg said they had the same side effects.
I also don't use it much now, tending to take it once every 2 weeks to crush out some work. Wary of dependence on it, and also what it's doing to my brain.
In high school I tried caffeine to get focus, but it never worked well. This was largely caffeine from soda. After seeing a therapist and a psychiatrist, and doing a combo of stimulants for ADD + good-study/work-habit-building work suggested by the therapist, was able to get through school much more successfully than before. It gave a much clearer feeling, long-lasting (with extended release variants of the drugs) focus than soda. Really quite remarkable.
But I was never super thrilled with the tolerance building. A few days cold turkey would reset things, but I was pretty useless for those days (of the lying in bed watching TV and eating cheetos all day variety). This got harder after college, when the only available times were weekends, and I wanted to be more social. I had some concerns with some of the potential long-term health effects, too.
I managed to wean myself off, and rely on the good habits it had helped me built, but work was definitely more of a chore after that. Then I got into coffee and green tea - at first, in fairly sweet sugar+creamer or latte form. This was still sort of a jittery focus, similar to from soda. Eventually, though, I started drinking black coffee and straight green tea (no rhyme or reason to which one on a given day, just my two forms of caffeine of choice).
For me, the difference between "caffeine from straight coffee or tea" and "caffeine from heavily sweetened sugary beverage" was enormous. My jitters mostly came from the sugar levels. Couple that with more and more studies suggesting potential positive health benefits from both straight coffee and tea, and I'm feeling better overall for sure now. It's not quite the same as the magic productivity pill of amphetamines, but it's good enough for me now.
The other major thing that changed for me over the years was my interest in the material. High school and first-few-years college work can be bland, and good habits were supremely helpful here as well. Don't wait until the last minute, don't do a few 14-hour day binges to get caught up or crank something out quick and dirty, etc. Between learning that, and working my first few jobs to find roles that had more natural appeal to me, I have much less need for supplements than I used to anyway.
I take it as gelatine capsules (good quality from a serious vendor), one every day. It takes a couple of weeks before it kicks in for me, but from then on it has a distinct effect - I can think about programming problems with a lot more clarity than usual, even when tired at the end of the day. Quite weird really. Traditionally one would run a three month course, then stay off for a couple of months before starting again.
There is always the possibility of placebo effect, but I've tried a lot of things and this one feels real. There are also real scientific studies showing enhanced mental acuity from using ginseng [1][2][3].
Of course is has the benefit of being a natural remedy (and legal, if you care about that).
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20676609
> Of course is has the benefit of being a natural remedy
Other than being non-prescription there's no benefit of it being natural. Since they're so unregulated supplement purity and potency varies significantly. Many don't contain the advertised ingredients and some are contaminated.