Yale Bulletin and Calendar

November 7, 2003|Volume 32, Number 10

Memory-enhancing drugs may actually worsen working memory, say researchers

A new study cautions that while drugs being designed to enhance memory in the elderly seem to be effective for some types of memory, they may actually worsen working memory, according to a study by Yale researchers published Nov. 6 in the journal Neuron.

Working memory is the cognitive ability that intelligently regulates individuals' thoughts, actions and feelings, letting them plan and organize for the future. It is governed by the prefrontal cortex. This type of memory is constantly updated, and is known to be impaired by the normal aging process.

The ability to lay down long-term memories depends upon another region of the brain, the hippocampus.

The study by Amy Arnsten, associate professor and director of graduate studies in neurobiology at the School of Medicine, shows that the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus have different chemical needs, and that medications being developed to enhance long-term memory actually worsen working memory in aged animals.

Biotech companies are focusing on the activating protein kinase A (PKA), an enzyme in hippocampal cells which strengthens long-term memory formation. Arnsten and colleagues found that activation of protein kinase A in the prefrontal cortex worsened working memory, while inhibiting this enzyme in prefrontal cortex improved working memory in aged rats. In collaboration with the laboratory of Yale researcher Dr. Ronald Duman, they found that aged rats with naturally occurring working memory impairment had signs of overactive protein kinase A in their prefrontal cortex.

"Because PKA is over-activated in the aged prefrontal cortex, PKA stimulation actually makes the situation worse by further impairing working memory," Arnsten says.

The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health.

In addition to Duman, co-authors of the study include Brian Ramos, Shari Birnbaum, Isabelle Lindenmayer and Samuel Newton.

-- By Jacqueline Weaver

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Harold Koh is appointed as next Law School dean

Clinton asserts 'shared responsibilities' among nations . . .

'Women Mentoring Women' program launched

Budget plans for the coming year

Event to explore ethics of media coverage in wartime

Colleges' sustainable dining initiatives are focus of conference

Women astronauts will talk about their 'Place in Space'

Computer scientists to develop ways to protect privacy online

Exhibit looks at Robert Damora's '70 Years of Total Architecture'

Yale Rep show explores collision of politics and culture in America

Her native landscape inspires Irish writer's 'desperate themes'

DeStefano hopes 'game plan' will bring him to Olympics

Study: Recovery rates from childhood leukemia . . .

Memory-enhancing drugs may actually worsen . . .

Dr. Robert Arnstein, counselor to generations of students, dies

World-renowned oncologist Dr. Paul Calabresi passes away

Rare form of obsessive compulsive disorder linked to gene mutation

Older patients may not be prepared to receive diagnosis, study says

Symposium will examine 'American Literary Globalism' . . .

Koerner Center to showcase emeritus faculty member's works

Researchers sequence and analyze the DNA of an ancient parasite

Two books on slavery are winners of the Douglass Prize

United Way Campaign nears halfway mark in meeting its goal

Yale Books in Brief

Campus Notes