Why the study?
Does propranolol improve performance in a learning task in older men?
Does propranolol improve performance in a learning task in older men?
Propranolol administration improved learning task performance in older men, suggesting autonomic arousal contributes to age-related learning decrements.
Propranolol may enhance learning in older men; hypothesis-generating for autonomic modulation of age-related deficits and requires randomized confirmation.
Partial blockade of beta-adrenergic end-organ response to the autonomic nervous system was effected in a group of older men by administration of propranolol. The result was improved performance in a learning task. The data support the hypothesis that the learning decrement found among older men is not simply a manifestation of structural change in the central nervous system but is, at least in part, associated with the heightened arousal of the autonomic nervous system that accompanies the learning task.
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Eisdorfer et al. (1970) studied this question.
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