DEVELOPMENT OF TREATMENTS FOR MEMORY DISORDERS - THE NECESSARY MEETING OF BASIC AND EVERYDAY MEMORY RESEARCH

A number of intriguing strategies for treating memory disorders have e merged from basic research in recent years. In many cases, these strat egies have been tested in animal behavioural models, but the appropria te test of drug efficacy is obviously a clinical trial and such trials require expertise gained through everyday memory research. We provide two examples of recent clinical trials in which assessment techniques and knowledge gained through everyday memory research were employed t o test hypotheses developed by preclinical investigators. We conclude that only a close collaboration between scientists in basic and everyd ay memory research can lead to the development of effective treatments for memory disorders.