ArticlePsychopharmacology2017
A test of the cognitive-enhancing potential of low-dose mecamylamine in healthy non-smokers.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Attention-enhancing effects of propranolol and synergistic effects with nicotine.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2020Trial
- Neurochemistry of Visual Attention.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Intermittent stimulation in the nucleus basalis of meynert improves sustained attention in rhesus monkeys.Neuropharmacology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleThe beneficial effects of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonists on cognitive performance have been widely shown. Paradoxically, recent preclinical studies employing extremely low doses of nAChR antagonists have also found cognitive enhancement, perhaps pointing to a novel treatment mechanism for cognitive deficits.
objectivesThe aim was to test whether low doses of the nAChR antagonist mecamylamine would benefit performance in human volunteers.
methodsThe study employed a double-blind within-subject design. Over four separate days, healthy adult non-smokers (n = 23) were tested with placebo and three trace doses of mecamylamine (0.25-1 mg, p.o.), adjusted for body weight. Participants performed three computerized tasks: a task of spatial selective attention and stimulus detection, the rapid visual information processing task (RVIPT) taxing sustained attention and working memory, and a change detection short-term memory task. Subjective state and vital signs were assessed repeatedly.
resultsMecamylamine did not improve performance in any of the tasks. Any trends that were observed instead pointed toward performance impairment. Mecamylamine also had no effects on subjective state or vital signs.
conclusionsThe present results do not support the hypothesized cognitive-enhancing potential of low doses of mecamylamine. Contrary to preclinical reports, these findings speak against low-dose nAChR antagonism as a novel avenue for treating cognitive deficits.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.