Effortful and automatic memory: effects of dopamine.

With advancing age, there are changes in both cognitive functions and neurotransmitter metabolism. Dopamine plays a role in learning, memory, and related cognitive processes. We evaluated the effects of supplemental dopamine in precursor form (levodopa) on various aspects of memory in elderly normal volunteers in a controlled, double-blind study.

The effects of desmethylimipramine on cognitive function in healthy subjects.

The cognitive effects of the specific norepinephrine (NE) uptake inhibitor desmethylimipramine (DMI) were examined in normal subjects. Although there were no differences in performance on drug compared to placebo treatment, there was an improvement in cognition 1 week after the drug had been discontinued. On DMI, there was evidence for increased noradrenergic activity, which was uncorrelated with measures of learning and memory.

A family with histologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease.

A Canadian family comprising 51 members affected with Alzheimer's disease was evaluated clinically, histologically, and genetically. Ancestors were traced through eight generations, and 51 members were examined at the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Md. The pedigree is consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance.

Effort and cognition in depression.

Motor performance and cognitive function were examined in depressed patients and controls. Increasing severity of depression was strongly associated with decrements in performance in both motor and memory tasks. Greatest depression-related impairment was found on those cognitive and motor tasks that required sustained effort.