NICOTINIC AGONIST AND ANTAGONIST EFFECTS ON MEMORY

Nicotine has been found by a variety of investigators to improve memor y in rats, monkeys, and humans. Recent studies have helped to determin e the behavioral and pharmacological nature of critical nicotine effec ts on memory function. Other nicotinic agonists, including ABT-418, GT S-21, or lobeline, can also significantly improve memory performance. Conversely, nicotinic antagonists, such as mecamylamine, can impair me mory. Nicotine can reverse memory impairments caused by aging or by le sions to hippocampal connections. The observation that nicotine improv es memory performance when it is administered by chronic infusion is p otentially important for the development of treatments of cognitive im pairment. Nicotinic agonists show promise for the development of novel treatments for cognitive disorders. Some characteristics of nicotine, nicotinic receptors, and the nature of the disorders to be treated, h owever, present challenges to the development of nicotinic-based treat ments. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.