The Pharmacology of Memory: A Neurobiological Perspective

What is of interest in an area of scientific inquiry depends on one's perspec­ tive. If one looks primarily to find a drug that can improve memory in the healthy subject or retard the decline of memory in neurological disease, then any enhancing effect of a drug can hold promise. Further, a better memory test score occurring together with a wide spectrum of other drug actions might mean only that memory enhancement will inevitably be accompanied by side effects. Alternatively, if one wishes to know how the brain accom­ plishes memory storage, then drugs can be viewed as tools to dissect the neural machinery involved in memory and to reveal as much as possible about the neurotransmitter systems and biochemical steps involved. Drugs may also be viewed as tools to reveal structural principles of memory, such as how memory changes over time and how many processes are involved.