AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion

News & Events: Public Lecture

Sleepless in Washington: Pharmacological engineering of human needs
19 September 2002

 

Modafinil is a psychostimulant that enhances wakefulness and vigilance. Developed as a treatment for sleep disorders it serves as an alternative to amphetamine and caffeine based stimulants. It appears to have relatively few side-effects and is non-addictive. Quite apart from its therapeutic use, it clearly has applications where alert wakefulness over extended periods of time is either necessary (e.g., military pilots) or desired (e.g., college all-nighters). Increased knowledge being gained now about human biology through human genome and other areas of research open the possibility of a significant increase in the public use of drugs to enhance performance. While there has been discussion of genetic enhancement and the use of drugs for performance enhancement in athletics, there has been less public discussion of pharmaceutically aided performance enhancement for the ordinary consumer. This lecture will provide background about the development and clinical use of Modafinil and an opportunity for such a public discussion of its potentially broader social significance. [For a discussion of Modafinil click here.]

Keynote speaker:

• Helene A. Emsellem, M.D. Medical Director of the Center for Sleep & Wake Disorders
  

Respondent:

• Audrey R. Chapman, Ph.D. Director of the AAAS Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion and the AAAS Program on Science and Human Rights

Coverage:

Listen to Dr. Helene Emsellem
Listen to Dr. Audrey Chapman
Read the Summary