Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011 Jan;36(1):227-50. doi: 10.1038/npp.2010.158. Epub 2010 Sep 15.
Investigating how different pharmacological compounds may enhance learning, memory, and higher-order cognitive functions in laboratory animals is the first critical step toward the development of cognitive enhancers that may be used to ameliorate impairments in these functions in patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders. Rather than focus on one aspect of cognition, or class of drug, in this review we provide a broad overview of how distinct classes of pharmacological compounds may enhance different types of memory and executive functioning, particularly those mediated by the prefrontal cortex. These include recognition memory, attention, working memory, and different components of behavioral flexibility. A key emphasis is placed on comparing and contrasting the effects of certain drugs on different cognitive and mnemonic functions, highlighting methodological issues associated with this type of research, tasks used to investigate these functions, and avenues for future research. Viewed collectively, studies of the neuropharmacological basis of cognition in rodents and non-human primates have identified targets that will hopefully open new avenues for the treatment of cognitive disabilities in persons affected by mental disorders.
研究不同的药理学化合物如何增强实验室动物的学习、记忆和更高阶的认知功能，是开发认知增强剂的关键第一步，这些认知增强剂可能用于改善患有神经精神疾病患者的这些功能障碍。在本篇综述中，我们没有专注于认知的一个方面或一类药物，而是提供了一个广泛的概述，说明不同类别的药理学化合物如何增强不同类型的记忆和执行功能，特别是那些由前额叶皮层介导的记忆和执行功能。其中包括识别记忆、注意力、工作记忆以及行为灵活性的不同组成部分。重点是比较和对比某些药物对不同认知和记忆功能的影响，强调与这类研究相关的方法学问题、用于研究这些功能的任务以及未来研究的途径。总的来说，啮齿动物和非人类灵长类动物认知的神经药理学基础研究确定了一些靶点，有望为治疗受精神障碍影响的人的认知障碍开辟新途径。
