Motivation-enhancing drug

A motivation-enhancing drug, also known as a pro-motivational drug, is a drug which increases motivation. Drugs enhancing motivation can be used in the treatment of motivational deficits, for instance in depression, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). They can also be used in the treatment of disorders of diminished motivation (DDMs), including apathy, abulia, and akinetic mutism, disorders that can be caused by conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and neurodegenerative diseases. Motivation-enhancing drugs are used non-medically by healthy people to increase motivation and productivity as well, for instance in educational contexts.

There are limited clinical data on medications in treating motivational deficits and disorders. In any case, drugs used for pro-motivational purposes are generally dopaminergic agents, for instance dopamine reuptake inhibitors (DRIs) like methylphenidate and modafinil, dopamine releasing agents (DRAs) like amphetamine, and other dopaminergic medications. Adenosine receptor antagonists, like caffeine and istradefylline, can also produce pro-motivational effects. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, like donepezil, have been used as well.

Some drugs do not appear to increase motivation and can actually have anti-motivational effects. Examples of these drugs include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (NRIs), and antipsychotics (which are dopamine receptor antagonists or partial agonists). Cannabinoids, for instance those found in cannabis, have also been associated with motivational deficits.