Age-related memory impairment. Is the cure worse than the disease?
Aging impairs multiple memory systems. The neurochemical substrates of normal memory differ between memory systems. In this issue of Neuron, Ramos et al. find that activation of protein kinase A, which has been reported to improve hippocampal-dependent spatial memory in aged animals, has the opposite effect on prefrontal cortex-dependent working memory in aged animals.
Baxter
Mark G
MG
Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
D000818:Animals; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000503:physiopathology
D018697:Nootropic Agents; D017868:Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases