Memory retrieval deficits: alleviation by etiracetam, a nootropic drug.

Etiracetam, a nonanaleptic drug related to the nootropic substance piracetam, was found to facilitate memory retrieval in rats in several experimental situations, when injected 30 min prior to retention testing. The drug was active when memory deficits were induced by electroconvulsive shock, undertraining, or by a long training-to-test interval. The behavioral paradigms included a one-trial inhibitory avoidance task and a complex multitrial, spatially discriminated approach task. The clinical interest of drugs which facilitate retrieval processes is also discussed.