Cortico-Amygdala-Striatal Activation by Modafinil/Flecainide Combination (original) (raw)

Modafinil, a nonamphetaminic wake-promoting compound, is prescribed as first line therapy in narcolepsy, an invalidating disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy. Although its mode of action remains incompletely known, recent studies indicated that modafinil modulates astroglial connexin-based gap junctional communication as administration of a low dose of flecainide, an astroglial connexin inhibitor, enhanced the wake-promoting and procognitive activity of modafinil in rodents and healthy volunteers. The aim of this study is to investigate changes in glucose cerebral metabolism in rodents, induced by the combination of modafinil+flecainide low dose (called THN102). The impact of THN102 on brain glucose metabolism was noninvasively investigated using 18F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose Positron Emission Tomography imaging in Sprague-Dawley male rats. Animals were injected with vehicle, flecainide, modafinil, or THN102 and further injected with 18F-2-fluoro-2-d...