Methylphenidate during early consolidation affects long-term associative memory retrieval depending on baseline catecholamines
Publication year
2017Source
Psychopharmacology, 234, 4, (2017), pp. 657-669ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor

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Organization
Cognitive Neuroscience
PI Group Affective Neuroscience
Journal title
Psychopharmacology
Volume
vol. 234
Issue
iss. 4
Page start
p. 657
Page end
p. 669
Subject
130 000 Cognitive Neurology & Memory; Radboudumc 13: Stress-related disorders DCMN: Donders Center for Medical NeuroscienceAbstract
RATIONALE: Synaptic memory consolidation is thought to rely on catecholaminergic signaling. Eventually, it is followed by systems consolidation, which embeds memories in a neocortical network. Although this sequence was demonstrated in rodents, it is unclear how catecholamines affect memory consolidation in humans. OBJECTIVES: Here, we tested the effects of catecholaminergic modulation on synaptic and subsequent systems consolidation. We expected enhanced memory performance and increased neocortical engagement during delayed retrieval. Additionally, we tested if this effect was modulated by individual differences in a cognitive proxy measure of baseline catecholamine synthesis capacity. METHODS: Fifty-three healthy males underwent a between-subjects, double-blind, placebo-controlled procedure across 2 days. On day 1, subjects studied and retrieved object-location associations and received 20 mg of methylphenidate or placebo. Drug intake was timed so that methylphenidate was expected to affect early consolidation but not encoding or retrieval. Memory was tested again while subjects were scanned three days later. RESULTS: Methylphenidate did not facilitate memory performance, and there was no significant group difference in activation during delayed retrieval. However, memory representations differed between groups depending on baseline catecholamines. The placebo group showed increased activation in occipito-temporal regions but decreased connectivity with the hippocampus, associated with lower baseline catecholamine synthesis capacity. The methylphenidate group showed stronger activation in the postcentral gyrus, associated with higher baseline catecholamine synthesis capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, methylphenidate during early consolidation did not foster long-term memory performance, but it affected retrieval-related neural processes depending on individual levels of baseline catecholamines.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [203793]
- Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging [3390]
- Electronic publications [102109]
- Faculty of Medical Sciences [80320]
- Open Access publications [70806]
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