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 ) .
Modulation of memory and visuospatial processes by biperiden and rivastigmine in elderly healthy subjects
Rationale The central cholinergic system is implicated in cognitive functioning . The dysfunction of this system is expressed in many diseases like Alzheimer 's disease , dementia of Lewy body , Parkinson 's disease and vascular dementia . In recent animal studies , it was found that selective cholinergic modulation affects visuospatial processes even more than memory function . Objective In the current study , we tried to replicate those findings . In order to investigate the acute effects of cholinergic drugs on memory and visuospatial functions , a selective anticholinergic drug , biperiden , was compared to a selective acetylcholinesterase-inhibiting drug , rivastigmine , in healthy elderly subjects . Methods A double-blind , placebo-controlled , r and omised , cross-over study was performed in 16 healthy , elderly volunteers ( eight men , eight women ; mean age 66.1 , SD 4.46 years ) . All subjects received biperiden ( 2 mg ) , rivastigmine ( 3 mg ) and placebo with an interval of 7 days between them . Testing took place 1 h after drug intake ( which was around Tmax for both drugs ) . Subjects were presented with tests for episodic memory ( wordlist and picture memory ) , working memory tasks ( N-back , symbol recall ) and motor learning ( maze task , pursuit rotor ) . Visuospatial abilities were assessed by tests with high visual scanning components ( tangled lines and Symbol Digit Substitution Test ) . Results Episodic memory was impaired by biperiden . Rivastigmine impaired recognition parts of the episodic memory performance . Working memory was non-significantly impaired by biperiden and not affected by rivastigmine .  Motor learning as well as visuospatial processes were impaired by biperiden and improved by rivastigmine . Conclusions These results implicate acetylcholine as a modulator not only of memory but also of visuospatial abilities
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 ) .