Abstract
The auditory mismatch negativity (MMN) event-related brain potential (ERP) reflects the storage of information in acoustic sensory memory. Thirteen patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 6 receiving treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor (ChEI) tacrine (tetrahydroaminoacridine, THA) and 7 receiving no treatment, were administered 2 mg of nicotine polacrilex and placebo. MMNs were recorded with 1- and 3-s interstimulus intervals pre- and postplacebo/nicotine administration. In nontreated patients, amplitudes were decreased from pre- to postplacebo recordings but remained stable in THA-treated patients. Comparison of pre- and postnicotine MMNs found amplitude increases with nicotine in nontreated but not THA-treated patients. MMN latencies were shortened by nicotine in both treatment groups. These exploratory findings suggest that nicotine-improved strength of acoustic sensory memory traces and speed of acoustic sensory discrimination in AD are differentially affected by chronic ChEI treatment.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 232-234 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Brain and cognition |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - Jul 2002 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Cognitive Neuroscience