Donepezil impairs memory in healthy older subjects: behavioural, EEG and simultaneous EEG/fMRI biomarkers.

ABSTRACT: Rising life expectancies coupled with an increasing awareness of age-related cognitive decline have led to the unwarranted use of psychopharmaceuticals, including acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEIs), by significant numbers of healthy older individuals. This trend has developed despite very limited data regarding the effectiveness of such drugs on non-clinical groups and recent work indicates that AChEIs can have negative cognitive effects in healthy populations. For the first time, we use a combination of EEG and simultaneous EEG/fMRI to examine the effects of a commonly prescribed AChEI (donepezil) on cognition in healthy older participants. The short- and long-term impact of donepezil was assessed using two double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. In both cases, we utilised cognitiv

SUBMITTER: Balsters JH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3169575 | biostudies-literature | 2011

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature