Rogers & Kesner (2003)

Preperation for SAQ Neurotransmission

Acetylcholine in hippocampus

high concentration of receptro sites; suspected role in memory consolidation

aim

determine the role of acetylcholine in the formation of spatial memory

subjects

30 rats acclimated to a Hebbe-Williams maze with food reward

research design

labratory experiment

allocation

random

scpalamine condition

injection into hippocampus; blocks acetylcholine receptor sites, preventing response

placebo condition

saline injection into hippocampus; controlled for injection effects

memory encoding measure

errors on first 5 trials vs last 5 trials of day 1

memory retrieal measure

errors on first 5 trials of day 2 vs last 5 trials of day 1

encoding

scopolamine rats made more erros and took longer to learn maze (impaired consolidation of spatial memory)

retrieval

no significant effect; previously formed memories could still be accessed

conclusion

acetylcholine plays an important role in memory encoding/consolidation, not retrieval

strength: controlled experiment

placebo reduced confounding variables

strength: cause-and-effect

manipulation of acetylcholine allowed conclusions about its role

strength: applications

could inform treatments for Alzheimer’s and dementia

limitation: reductionist

memory is complex, not explained by one neurotransmitter

limitation: generalisability

animal models may not fully represent human memory processes