A psychopharmacological perspective of cognitive functions. I. Theoretical overview and methodological considerations.

Memory is not a unitary process. Rather it is comprised of several psychobiologically distinct elements which may be selectively affected by drugs or by disease processes. An understanding of these distinctions allows a greater appreciation of normal and altered cognitive functioning. In this article, we review several different conceptual approaches to memory and underscore certain methodological issues that are particularly important in studying the psychopharmacology of memory.