Pharmacology of human memory and cognition: illustrations from the effects of benzodiazepines and cholinergic drugs

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Abstract
The current research methods, findings and questions that are being addressed in studies of the pharmacology of human memory and cognition are reviewed. Memory is not a unitary function. Neuropsychological studies of brain-damaged memory-impaired patients, as well as neuroimaging and drug studies in normal individuals indicate that different forms of learning and memory are subserved by different brain systems. Animal drug studies have also provided evidence that, while distinct, memory systems are not independent, but operate in close interaction with one another. Recent human studies of benzodiazepines and of cholinergic drugs demonstrate the value of the psychological models and of the experimental paradigms that are available from cognitive sciences for exploring how drugs alter cognitive and memory functions. They also show how drugs can be used as tools for analyzing the distinct neurochemical mechanisms underlying independent cognitive processes, and so find effective drugs rationally from a knowledge of the neurochemical bases of cognition. This research leads to specific recommendations concerning treatments that may improve memory functioning, for instance in Alzheimer's disease.