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 ) .
Guanfacine and Clonidine, Alpha2-Agonists, Improve Paired Associates Learning, but not Delayed Matching to Sample, in Humans
The present study compares the effects of two alpha2-agonists , clonidine ( 0.5 , 2 , and 5 μg/kg , PO ) and guanfacine ( 7 and 29 μg/kg , PO ) in young healthy volunteers on their performance in visual paired associates learning ( PAL ) and delayed matching to sample ( DMTS ) visual short-term recognition memory tests . In the PAL test , clonidine 2 and guanfacine 29 μg/kg improved the subjects ’ performance . In the DMTS test , clonidine at 5 μg/kg delay-dependently impaired performance accuracy , and at 2 and 5 μg/kg it also slowed responses . Guanfacine had no effect on DMTS test performance . Clonidine 5 and guanfacine 29 μg/kg equally increased subjective feelings of sedation and reduced blood pressure . The results suggest that both clonidine and guanfacine facilitated PAL learning by improving “ frontal strategies , ” but only clonidine disrupted “ mnemonic processing ” decreasing DMTS accuracy . The greater selectivity of guanfacine for alpha2A-adrenoceptor subtype may explain the different profile of action of the drugs
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 ) .