What’s the deal with modafinil? | Archy de Berker and Sven Bestmann

Recent hype surrounding neuroenhancing drugs should set alarm bells ringing for scientists

A great deal of excitement has been generated in recent weeks by a review paper examining the literature on the drug modafinil, which concluded that "modafinil may well deserve the title of the first well-validated pharmaceutical 'nootropic' [cognitive enhancing] agent". Coverage in the Guardian, Telegraph, British Medical Journal, and the Independent all called attention to the work, with a press release from Oxford University trumpeting "Review of 'smart drug' shows modafinil does enhance cognition".

Related: Is modafinil safe in the long term?