Differential effect of modafinil on impulsivity, attention and motor activity in preadolescent rats prenatally treated with alcohol

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to study the effect of different doses of modafinil (0, 10, 30 and 60 mg/kg) on reactive impulsivity, attention and hyperactivity in male Wistar rats treated with prenatal alcohol (PA), treatment that produces an alteration in dopaminergic (DA) neurons. The control rats were treated prenatally with sucrose (PS). Animals with PA were less efficient, more impulsive, and inattentive compared to PSs, in a Go-Signal-Task paradigm. The results indicated that a dose of 30 mg/kg of modafinil increased the number of correct responses in the task; decreased impulsivity and did not affect the attention in the PA animals. In contrast, in the PS animals the doses of 30 and 60 mg/kg of modafinil decreased the number of correct responses and increased the impulsivity. Inattention was only increased with 30 mg/kg in PS animals. Hyperactivity increased with a dose-response effect of modafinil in the PS group; meanwhile, this behavior increased only with the dose of 60 mg/kg in the PA group. A moderate dose of modafinil had beneficial effects on behaviors that are altered in animals with a dysfunction of the dopaminergic system; on the other hand, it has a deleterious effect on these behaviors in healthy animals, which suggests that it is due to the predominance of the psychostimulant effect of this drug. The main target of modafinil is the DA system, thus, the data suggest that this system has an important role in impulsive behavior and hyperactivity.