Antanova

Aim

• Investigate role of acetylcholine in spatial memory encoding using scopolamine.

• Examine hippocampal activation during spatial memory task.

Procedure

• 20 healthy male adults (mean age 28 years).

• Double-blind study; randomly assigned to scopolamine or placebo.

• Participants underwent fMRI while playing "Arena task" to assess spatial memory.

• Task involved navigating to a pole in a virtual arena, then mentally rehearsing after a blank screen, starting from a new position.

• Brain activity measured across six trials.

• Follow-up session 3-4 weeks later with reversed treatment condition (placebo or scopolamine).

Results

• Scopolamine group showed significantly reduced hippocampal activation compared to placebo.

• Acetylcholine likely plays a crucial role in human spatial memory encoding.

Conclusion

• Scopolamine impacts hippocampal function, affecting spatial memory encoding.

• Findings align with similar studies in rodents, suggesting a conserved role of acetylcholine in memory processes.

Strengths

• Double-blind design minimizes bias.

• Repeated measures design controls for participant variability.

• Counterbalancing treatment order reduces practice effects.

Limitations

• Small sample size (20 participants) limits generalizability.

• Participants reported stress during the study, potentially affecting hippocampal function and memory performance.

• Task design may not have effectively measured performance differences despite significant biological findings.