Whether drugs that enhance cognition in healthy individuals will appear in the near future has become a topic of considerable interest. We address this possibility using a three variable system (psychological effect, neurobiological mechanism, and efficiency vs. capabilities) for classifying candidates. Ritalin and modafinil, two currently available compounds, operate on primary psychological s...

Schizophrenia symptoms segregate into positive, negative and cognitive, which exhibit differential sensitivity to drugs. Recent efforts to identify treatments targeting cognitive impairments in schizophrenia have directed attention to the cholinergic system for its well documented role in cognition. Relatedly, muscarinic antagonists (e.g. scopolamine) produce an 'antimuscarinic syndrome', chara...

The go-to cognitive enhancers of today are those that are widely available rather than optimal for the user, including drugs typically prescribed for treatment of ADHD (e.g., methylphenidate) and sleep disturbances such as narcolepsy (modafinil). While highly effective in their intended therapeutic role, performance gains in healthy populations are modest at best and profoundly inconsistent acr...

The development of cognitive enhancers from plants possessing antioxidants has gained much attention due to the role of oxidative stress-induced cognitive impairment. Thus, this study aimed to determine the effect of ginger extract, or Zingiber officinale, on the cognitive function of middle-aged, healthy women. Sixty participants were randomly assigned to receive a placebo or standardized plan...

Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP) differentially interacts with chromatin to regulate essential genes. Because complete ADNP deficiency is embryonic lethal, the outcome of partial ADNP deficiency was examined. ADNP(+/-) mice exhibited cognitive deficits, significant increases in phosphorylated tau, tangle-like structures, and neurodegeneration compared with ADNP(+/+) mice. Incre...

Accumulating evidence reveals that synaptic dysfunction precedes neuronal loss in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Intriguingly, synaptic abnormality is also implicated in a myriad of psychiatric disorders including depression. In particular, alterations in spine density and morphology have been associated with aberrant synaptic activity in these diseased brains. Understa...

Cognitive enhancers (nootropics) are drugs to treat cognition deficits in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, stroke, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or aging. Cognition refers to a capacity for information processing, applying knowledge, and changing preferences. It involves memory, attention, executive functions, perception, language, and psychomotor function...

Octyl methoxycinnamate is one of the ingredients in sunscreen products. The main aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different enhancers of in vitro skin permeability of Octyl methoxycinnamate. Octyl methoxycinnamate permeability parameters were evaluated through the whole skin of the rat with and without chemical enhancers including eucalyptus oil, urea, menthol and olive ...

achieving a desirable percutaneous absorption of drug molecule is a major concern in formulating dermatological products. the use of penetration enhancers could provide a successful mean for this purpose. the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of incorporating a few common penetration enhancers (in different concentrations) into a 0.5% w/w piroxicam (model drug) gel formulation, on th...