Perspectives on cognitive psychopharmacology research

This article discusses new perspectives in the psychopharmacology of cognition and analyses the advantages and disadvantages of using drugs as tools to study the mechanisms underlying memory functions. The use of 'stages' in the processing of information as a means for the analysis of cognitive operations is critically discussed as a rigid approach which can only partially accommodate different cognitive functions. Theoretical models of memory 'systems' and allocation of attentional resources are presented alongside findings from the two types of more commonly used drugs in cognitive psychopharmacology: the benzodiazepines (BZ) and the anticholinergics. In a post-hoc analysis of the effects of BZ and scopolamine on memory and attention, it has become clear that these newer theoretical models can accommodate most, but not all, of the effects of BZ and scopolamine on cognition. It is suggested that the development of cognitive tasks on the basis of these models and the execution of prospective studies with drugs as tools taking in to account the 'systems' approach to interpretation of data may be more useful for understanding cognitive functions.