Sleepiness and Brain Function: The Effect of Armodafinil in Shift Work Sleep Disorder

The investigators hypothesize that in patients with shift work sleep disorder, armodafinil will specifically increase brain activity in the frontal cortex parallel with improvements in deficits of fundamental mechanisms of attention.

The current protocol will utilize a paradigm which is well suited to examine frontal attentional neuronal mechanisms by eliciting event related potential components known to reflect automatic stimulus detection as well as involuntary and voluntary attentional processes. The that end the proposed research has two specific aims. 1) Identify what areas of the frontal lobe and corresponding cognitive functions are impacted by excessive sleepiness in shift work sleep disorder and 2) identify specific brain areas affected by armodafinil and their role in improvement of fundamental attentional processes using a complex cognitive task targeting attentional control.

Study population must be healthy night shift workers with a diagnosis of shift work sleep disorder.

• 1
  Individuals with shift work sleep disorder
• 2
  Healthy night shift workers without shift work sleep disorder

Inclusion Criteria:

• Night shift workers with and without shift work sleep disorder.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Secondary condition to shift work sleep disorder.