Dopaminergic contributions to working memory-related brain activation in postmenopausal women.
The current study examined the effects of pharmacologic dopaminergic manipulations on working memory-related brain activation in postmenopausal women to further understand the neurochemistry underlying cognition after menopause.



Eighteen healthy postmenopausal women, mean age 55.21 years, completed three study days with dopaminergic drug challenges during which they performed a functional magnetic resonance imaging visual verbal N-back test of working memory. Acute stimulation with 1.25 mg oral D2 agonist bromocriptine, acute blockade with 1.5 mg oral haloperidol, and matching placebo were administered randomly and blindly on three study days.



We found that dopaminergic stimulation increased activation primarily in the posterior regions of the working memory network compared with dopaminergic blockade using a whole brain cluster-level corrected analysis. The dopaminergic medications did not affect working memory performance.



Patterns of increased blood-oxygen-level dependent signal activation after dopaminergic stimulation were found in this study in posterior brain regions with no effect on working memory performance. Further studies should examine specific dopaminergic contributions to brain functioning in healthy postmenopausal women to determine the effects of the increased brain activation on cognition and behavior.
1Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry 2Department of Neurology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT 3Department of Biomedical Imaging and Translational Sciences, Hofstra University School of Medicine and North Shore University Hospital-LIJ, Hempstead, NY 4Center for Cognitive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 5Geriatric Research and Educational Center, Tennessee Valley Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Nashville, TN.
Julie A
JA
Dumas
Christopher G
CG
Filippi
Paul A
PA
Newhouse
Magdalena R
MR
Naylor
D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001971:Bromocriptine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects / Q000523:psychology*
D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D001971:Bromocriptine; D006220:Haloperidol
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