Effects of AF102B and tacrine on delayed match-to-sample in monkeys

1. Object working memory, a function which declines in aging and dementia, was tested in young and aged pretrained monkeys using a delayed match-to-sample task. 2. During drug treatment, monkeys were given the m 1 muscarinic agonist AF102B (0.1-2.1 mg/kg i.m.), the cholinesterase inhibitor tacrine (0.5-2.0 mg/kg p.o.), or vehicle controls in a repeated measures design to assess putative cognitive enhancement. 3. Both agents improved task performance in both young and aged monkeys, AF102B yielding equivalent or greater, and less variable, improvement than tacrine. 4. AF102B may represent a low-toxicity alternative to tacrine for the treatment of age-related memory disorders.