Event-related potentials and visual spatial attention: influence of a cholinergic drug

Neuropsychobiology. 1989;21(2):94-9. doi: 10.1159/000118559.

Abstract

The effects of two dosages (200 mg, 600 mg, placebo) of a cholinergic nootropic (WEB 1881 FU) were investigated in a visual spatial attention task. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used as a physiological measure of attention as they have previously been shown to be sensitive to allocation of attention to points in space. The typical enhancement of several peaks of the visual ERP due to attention was found in the present experiment. No systematic effect of the medication was revealed, suggesting that the effects of WEB 1881 FU do not extend to early perceptual processes.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Controlled Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Attention / drug effects*
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Electroencephalography / drug effects*
  • Evoked Potentials, Visual / drug effects*
  • Form Perception / drug effects*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Orientation / drug effects*
  • Parasympatholytics / pharmacology*
  • Pattern Recognition, Visual / drug effects*
  • Pyrrolidinones / pharmacology*
  • Reaction Time / drug effects

Substances

  • Parasympatholytics
  • Pyrrolidinones
  • nebracetam