In conclusion , a number of new active drugs were found to improve some cognitive functions , in particular verbal episodic memory .
Pharmacological cognitive enhancement refers to improvement in cognitive functions after drug use in healthy individuals .
This popular topic attracts attention both from the general public and the scientific community .
The objective was to explore innovative mechanisms of psychostimulant 's action , whose potential effectiveness was assessed in r and omized placebo-controlled trials ( RCTs ) .
Effects of acute cortisol administration on autobiographical memory in patients with major depression and healthy controls
OBJECTIVE Overgeneral autobiographical memory has become a well established phenomenon within major depressive disorder ( MDD ) . Neuroendocrinologically , MDD is often characterized by a dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal ( HPA ) axis , i.e. hypercortisolemia and reduced feedback sensitivity . In healthy participants cortisol administration has been found to impair autobiographical memory retrieval . The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of acute cortisol administration on autobiographical memory in MDD patients with the effects observed in healthy controls . We hypothesized that in contrast to healthy control subjects acute cortisol administration would not affect autobiographical memory performance in MDD due to reduced central glucocorticoid sensitivity . METHODS In a placebo-controlled , double-blind crossover study , 16 patients with MDD and 16 healthy control subjects received a placebo or 10 mg of hydrocortisone orally before autobiographical memory testing ( AMT ) . RESULTS In the placebo condition depressed patients performed poorer than controls . After hydrocortisone intake , healthy subjects reported significantly fewer specific memories on the AMT compared to placebo treatment . In contrast , memory specificity of MDD patients was not affected by hydrocortisone treatment . CONCLUSIONS The present findings replicate previous findings of impaired autobiographical memory retrieval after hydrocortisone treatment in healthy subjects and of impaired AMT performance in depressed patients . We speculate that the missing acute impairing effect of hydrocortisone on autobiographical memory in depressed patients might reflect reduced central glucocorticoid sensitivity . However alternative explanations can not be ruled out
In conclusion , a number of new active drugs were found to improve some cognitive functions , in particular verbal episodic memory .
Pharmacological cognitive enhancement refers to improvement in cognitive functions after drug use in healthy individuals .
This popular topic attracts attention both from the general public and the scientific community .
The objective was to explore innovative mechanisms of psychostimulant 's action , whose potential effectiveness was assessed in r and omized placebo-controlled trials ( RCTs ) .