Memory and Cognitive Function in the Elderly

Memory and cognitive (M-C) functions are known to decline with advancing age. Pharmacologic studies during the last decade have suggested that this may be due to a decrease in cholinergic function in the brains of the elderly. In particular, two lines of evidence support this concept. First, scopolamine, a cholinergic receptorblocking agent, produces a pattern of M-C impairment in young subjects that closely mimics the pattern seen in the elderly. 1,2 Second, biochemical studies with the cholinergic receptor ligand, 3-quinuclidinyl benzilate ( 3 H-QNB), have demonstrated a decline in cholinergic receptors in the cerebral cortices of the aged. 3 Although centrally-active cholinergic agonists (physostigmine, choline, arecoline) have been given to young, normal subjects with some variable improvement in M-C functions 4,5 and to demented patients with less consistent results, 6-8 the effects of these drugs on M-C functions in normal aged subjects have not yet been studied. The purpose of this communication