Cholinergic enhancement and increased selectivity of perceptual processing during working memory.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the mechanism by which cholinergic enhancement improves working memory. We studied the effect of the cholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine on subcomponents of this complex function. Cholinergic enhancement increased the selectivity of neural responses in extrastriate cortices during visual working memory, particularly during encoding. It also increased the participation of ventral extrastriate cortex during memory maintenance and decreased the participation of anterior prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that cholinergic enhancement improves memory performance by augmenting the selectivity of perceptual processing during encoding, thereby simplifying processing demands during memory maintenance and reducing the need for prefrontal participation.
Furey
M L
ML
Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. furey@nih.gov
Pietrini
P
P
Haxby
J V
JV
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010830:Physostigmine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects
D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D010830:Physostigmine; D000109:Acetylcholine