Impaired decision making on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task as a result of long-term alcohol use.

The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is an experimental measure of risk taking that has commonly been employed to measure the risk taking behavior of nonclinical populations. Previous research has indicated that the task measures a unique aspect of behavioral disinhibition, but there has not as yet been focus upon the possible impact of other aspects of cognitive processing on performance. The current study investigated the cognitive factors related to performance of the BART in an alcohol-using sample.

Piracetam, an AMPAkine drug, facilitates memory consolidation in the day-old chick.

Piracetam is an AMPAkine drug that may have a range of different mechanisms at the cellular level, and which has been shown to facilitate memory, amongst its other effects. This series of experiments demonstrated that a 10mg/kg dose of piracetam facilitated memory consolidation in the day-old chick when injected from immediately until 120min after weak training (i.e.

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor facilitates memory consolidation and reconsolidation of a weak training stimulus in the day-old chick.

Recent research has pointed to a role for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in long-term potentiation and memory. The present series of experiments examined the effects of the application of exogenous BDNF on memory consolidation and reconsolidation of a weak training stimulus with the day-old chick, using the passive avoidance learning paradigm. Chicks injected intracranially with 12.

Memantine facilitates memory consolidation and reconsolidation in the day-old chick.

Memantine is a non-competitive N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that has been approved for the treatment of the cognitive deficits noted in Alzheimer's disease. While there is a body of research that supports memantine's facilitative action upon memory compromise, this series of studies aimed to investigate the effects of this drug in healthy animals with intact memory functioning. A 0.