Moral decision making under modafinil: a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind crossover fMRI study.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• Modafinil is a widely used neuroenhancer for cognitive improvement in healthy individuals.
• Cognitive effects of modafinil are most consistently observed in complex tasks involving the prefrontal cortex (PFC).

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a single 200 mg dose of modafinil on everyday moral decision-making.
• To examine the neural correlates of modafinil's effect on moral judgments, focusing on the ventromedial and dorsomedial PFC.

Main Methods:

• A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover study design.
• Healthy male participants completed moral and neutral dilemma tasks under modafinil and placebo conditions.
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessed brain activity during dilemma processing.

Main Results:

• Moral dilemma processing activated brain regions including the medial PFC, insula, and precuneus.
• Modafinil increased the proportion of moral decisions made by participants.
• No significant effect of modafinil on overall brain activity during dilemma processing was observed.
• Exploratory analysis indicated reduced dorsomedial PFC activity under modafinil for moral dilemmas.

Conclusions:

• Modafinil may alter moral decision-making by enhancing the prediction of others' emotional states.
• Potential for increased processing efficiency in social cognition under modafinil.
• Findings contribute to understanding neuroenhancement effects on complex human behaviors.