Improvement of learning in the aged by modification of autonomic nervous system activity.
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.
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010919:Placebos; D011433:Propranolol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000187:drug effects*
D010919:Placebos; D011433:Propranolol