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Cognitive Enhancers: Role of the Glutamate System

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Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology

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Synonyms

Nootropics

Definition

Cognitive enhancers are drugs that are used to treat problems of memory, attention, and inhibitory control.

Pharmacological Properties

Cognitive problems exist in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders. Current nootropics, the acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, are used primarily to treat Alzheimer’s disease. These drugs have limited efficacy and cannot be used ubiquitously across all disorders where cognitive enhancement might be beneficial (e.g., they are inappropriate for the use in patients with Parkinson’s disease as they can aggravate the motor disability). Therefore, the future development of a range of drugs with different mechanisms of action is likely to occur.

Ionotropic Glutamate Receptors

Ionotropic glutamate receptors as a target for cognition enhancement have been of interest since the 1980s following the discovery of their involvement in long-term potentiation (LTP; a persistent strengthening of synapses). This form of synaptic...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Moulsecoomb, BN2 4GJ, Brighton, East Sussex, UK

    Anne Jackson

Authors
  1. Anne Jackson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Jackson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Behavioural Pharmacology, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry P049, London, United Kingdom

    Ian P. Stolerman

  2. Brown Medical School, Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Lawrence H. Price

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Jackson, A. (2014). Cognitive Enhancers: Role of the Glutamate System. In: Stolerman, I., Price, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_170-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_170-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27772-6

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