title: Glucose improves object-location binding in visual-spatial working memory.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is evidence that glucose temporarily enhances cognition and that processes dependent on the hippocampus may be particularly sensitive. As the hippocampus plays a key role in binding processes, we examined the influence of glucose on memory for object-location bindings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to study how glucose modifies performance on an object-location memory task, a task that draws heavily on hippocampal function.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one participants received 30 g glucose or placebo in a single 1-h session. After seeing between 3 and 10 objects (words or shapes) at different locations in a 9 × 9 matrix, participants attempted to immediately reproduce the display on a blank 9 × 9 matrix. Blood glucose was measured before drink ingestion, mid-way through the session, and at the end of the session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Glucose significantly improves object-location binding (d = 1.08) and location memory (d = 0.83), but not object memory (d = 0.51). Increasing working memory load impairs object memory and object-location binding, and word-location binding is more successful than shape-location binding, but the glucose improvement is robust across all difficulty manipulations. Within the glucose group, higher levels of circulating glucose are correlated with better binding memory and remembering the locations of successfully recalled objects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The glucose improvements identified are consistent with a facilitative impact on hippocampal function. The findings are discussed in the context of the relationship between cognitive processes, hippocampal function, and the implications for glucose's mode of action.
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK. Brian.Stollery@Bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stollery
authors.affiliation: School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, 12a Priory Road, Bristol, BS8 1TU, UK.
authors.forename: Leonie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Christian
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D005947:Glucose
keywords: Binding; Complexity; Episodic memory; Glucose; Hippocampus; Human; Object-location memory; Spatial memory; Working memory