The vigilance promoting drug modafinil increases extracellular glutamate levels in the medial preoptic area and the posterior hypothalamus of the conscious rat: prevention by local GABAA receptor blockade
by
Ferraro L, Antonelli T, Tanganelli S, O'Connor WT,
Perez de la Mora M, Mendez-Franco J, Rambert FA, Fuxe K
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine,
University of Ferrara, Italy.
Neuropsychopharmacology 1999 Apr; 20(4):346-56

ABSTRACT

The effects of modafinil on glutamatergic and GABAergic transmission in the rat medial preoptic area (MPA) and posterior hypothalamus (PH), are analysed. Modafinil (30-300 mg/kg) increased glutamate and decreased GABA levels in the MPA and PH. Local perfusion with the GABAA agonist muscimol (10 microM), reduced, while the GABAA antagonist bicuculline (1 microM and 10 microM) increased glutamate levels. The modafinil (100 mg/kg)-induced increase of glutamate levels was antagonized by local perfusion with bicuculline (1 microM). When glutamate levels were increased by the local perfusion with the glutamate uptake inhibitor L-trans-PDC (0.5 mM), modafinil produced an additional enhancement of glutamate levels. Modafinil (1-33 microM) failed to affect [3H]glutamate uptake in hypothalamic synaptosomes and slices. These findings show that modafinil increases glutamate and decreases GABA levels in MPA and PH. The evidence that bicuculline counteracts the modafinil-induced increase of glutamate levels strengthens the evidence for an inhibitory GABA/glutamate interaction in the above regions controlling the sleep-wakefulness cycle.

GABA
Dosage
Orexins
Dopamine
Narcolepsy
Modafinil and the aviator
Modafinil as an antidepressant
Modafinil versus amphetamine
Modafinil versus methylphenidate
Modafinil, amphetamine and sleep

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