NON-MNESTIC COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN THE SCOPOLAMINE MODEL OF ALZHEIMERS-DISEASE

The contribution of cholinergic dysfunction to the non-mnestic cogniti ve impairments associated with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type ( SDAT) was investigated. Scopolamine (0.5 mg) was administered intraven ously to 12 healthy individuals, and their performance on selected sub tests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R), and o n additional non-mnestic neuropsychological tests were compared to tha t of 12 healthy control participants. The results demonstrate that sco polamine does impair performance on components of the WAIS-R, but that the Fuld WAIS-R profile does not have a cholinergic basis. Scopolamin e did not impair performance on verbal fluency, the Token Test, Judgme nt of:line Orientation, finger tapping, the Modified Card Sorting Test , or the Mini-Mental State Examination. The results do not support the hypothesis that the cholinergic system contributes to the non-mnestic impairments in SDAT. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.