Pharmacological manipulation of human working memory

Deanna, M

doi:10.1007/s00213-003-1732-3

Cited by 81 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…Instead, the modulation of cognitive systems by the amygdala may be beneficial for challenging situations, but detrimental to low-demand tasks. This interpretation is consistent with findings indicating that the effects of neurotransmitters associated with the amygdala (dopamine and noradrenaline) on cognition are not linear (Barch, 2004). It is also consistent with the classical idea that the optimal level of biological energy necessary to cognitive performance depends on the specific demands of the task (Humphreys and Revelle, 1984).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Individual Differences in Amygdala Activity Predict Response Speed during Working Memory

Schaefer¹,

Braver²,

Reynolds³

et al. 2006

J. Neurosci.

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The human amygdala has classically been viewed as a brain structure primarily related to emotions and dissociated from higher cognition. We report here findings suggesting that the human amygdala also has a role in supporting working memory (WM), a canonical higher cognitive function. In a first functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study (n ϭ 53), individual differences in amygdala activity predicted behavioral performance in a 3-back WM task. Specifically, higher event-related amygdala amplitude predicted faster response time (RT; r ϭ Ϫ0.64), with no loss of accuracy. This relationship was not contingent on mood state, task content, or personality variables. In a second fMRI study (n ϭ 21), we replicated the key finding (r ϭ Ϫ0.47) and further showed that the correlation between the amygdala and faster RT was specific to a high working memory load condition (3-back) compared with a low working memory load condition (1-back). These results support models of amygdala function that can account for its involvement not only in emotion but also higher cognition.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Individual Differences in Amygdala Activity Predict Response Speed during Working Memory

Schaefer¹,

Braver²,

Reynolds³

et al. 2006

J. Neurosci.

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“…A large body of literature covers pharmacological interventions to elucidate the underpinnings of memory processes, especially of working memory [36]. While fMRI techniques have long been used to study sensory, motor, and cognitive functions, the imaging of drug action in the brain and of the consequences on brain function and cognitive processes has been the field of positron emission tomography (PET).…”

Section: Pharmacological Fmrimentioning

confidence: 99%

Caffeine and Cognition in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Koppelstaetter

Poeppel

Siedentopf

et al. 2010

JAD

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Abstract. Caffeine has been consumed since ancient times due to its beneficial effects on attention, psychomotor function, and memory. Caffeine exerts its action mainly through an antagonism of cerebral adenosine receptors, although there are important secondary effects on other neurotransmitter systems. Recently, functional MRI (fMRI) entered the field of neuropharmacology to explore the intracerebral sites and mechanisms of action of pharmacological agents. However, as caffeine possesses vasoconstrictive properties it may interfere with the mechanisms underlying the functional contrast in fMRI. Yet, only a limited number of studies dealt with the effect of caffeine on measures in fMRI. Even fewer neuroimaging studies examined the effects that caffeine exerts on cognition: Portas and colleagues used fMRI in an attentional task under different levels of arousal (sleep deprivation or caffeine administration), concluding that the thalamus is involved in mediating the interaction of attention and arousal. Bendlin and colleagues found caffeine to stabilize the extent of neuronal activation in repetitive word stem completion, counteracting the general task practice effect. Recently, Koppelstaetter and colleagues assessed the effect of caffeine on verbal working memory demonstrating a modulatory effect of caffeine on brain regions (medial frontopolar and anterior cingulate cortex) that have been associated with attentional and executive functions. This review surveys and discusses neuroimaging findings on 1) how caffeine affects the contrast underlying fMRI techniques, particularly the blood oxygen level dependent contrast (BOLD fMRI), and 2) how caffeine operates on neuronal activity underlying cognition, to understand the effect of caffeine on behavior and its neurobiological underpinnings.

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“…Other research attests to the importance of NA transmission, and the balanced activity of a 1 -and a 2 -adrenoceptors, in protecting the cognitive functions of the lateral PFC from the deleterious effects of stress (Arnsten, 2000;Arnsten and Contant, 1992;Arnsten and Jentsch, 1997;Birnbaum et al, 2000). Therefore, despite occasional failures to find catecholamine influences in some working memory models (Collins et al, 1998) and continuing uncertainty about the relative importance of the D 2 family of receptors (Barch, 2004;Müller et al, 1998), the weight of the available evidence suggests that DA and NA have complementary roles in modulating the prefrontal substrates of spatial working memory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Doses of Δ-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Have Divergent Effects on Short-Term Spatial Memory in Young, Healthy Adults

Mäkelä

Wakeley

Gijsman

et al. 2005

Neuropsychopharmacol

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Evidence suggests that manipulating spatial information within working memory depends upon a circuitry organized around the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the activity of the catecholamine systems. Other evidence attests to the effects of D-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on short-term spatial memory function, most probably involving CB 1 receptor activity within hippocampal circuitries. At the current time, there have been no systematic studies of the effects of THC on spatial working memory in human subjects using tasks known to depend upon frontotemporal neural circuitries. We examined the effects of a single sublingual 5 mg dose of THC on a test of spatial working memory (requiring active manipulation of remembered spatial information for the management of future behavior) and a test of spatial span (requiring only the reproduction of sequences of previously presented spatial cues). In all, 19 healthy adults were administered 5 mg THC and placebo in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subject, crossover design. Male participants performed more accurately than female participants. THC significantly enhanced spatial working memory performance of female participants. By contrast, male and female participants produced more intrusion errors during performance of the Spatial Span task. These results suggest that THC has relatively complex effects on spatial memory in human subjects, perhaps reflecting altered CB 1 receptor activity within frontotemporal circuits or altered activity of mesocortical dopaminergic pathways in PFC areas associated with spatial memory.

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Pharmacological manipulation of human working memory

Abstract: Compounds geared towards enhancing the dopamine system and the acetycholine system remain promising avenues for the development of pro-cognitive drugs, though further work is clearly needed on developing agents that may more selectively target specific receptors.

Cited by 81 publications

References 94 publications

Individual Differences in Amygdala Activity Predict Response Speed during Working Memory

Individual Differences in Amygdala Activity Predict Response Speed during Working Memory

Caffeine and Cognition in Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Low Doses of Δ-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) Have Divergent Effects on Short-Term Spatial Memory in Young, Healthy Adults

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