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Effects of donepezil on cognitive performance after sleep deprivation
Author(s) -
Dodds Chris M.,
Bullmore Edward T.,
Henson Richard N.,
Christensen Soren,
Miller Sam,
Smith Marie,
Dewit Odile,
Lawrence Phil,
Nathan Pradeep J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.1248
Subject(s) - donepezil , sleep deprivation , effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance , alertness , cognition , psychology , memory impairment , sleep (system call) , audiology , crossover study , cognitive decline , placebo , medicine , dementia , neuroscience , psychiatry , alternative medicine , disease , computer science , operating system , pathology
Objectives To identify tasks that were sensitive to a temporary decline in cognitive performance after sleep deprivation and to investigate the ability of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil to reverse any sleep deprivation‐induced impairment. Methods Thirty healthy volunteers were administered either a 5‐mg daily dose of donepezil or placebo for 14–17 days, in a double‐blind parallel group design, then underwent either 24 h sleep deprivation or a normal night of sleep in non‐blinded crossover, and were subsequently tested on a battery of cognitive tasks designed to measure different components of memory and executive function. Results Sleep deprivation selectively impaired performance on several memory tasks whilst also impairing non‐memory function on these tasks. Performance on other tasks was spared. Despite partially reversing the decline in subjective alertness associated with sleep deprivation, treatment with donepezil failed to significantly reverse the decline in cognitive performance on any of the tasks. Conclusions The results demonstrate the sensitivity of certain tests, particularly those that measure memory function, to cognitive impairment after sleep deprivation. The inability of donepezil to reverse this performance decline suggests that the sleep deprivation model of cognitive impairment may not be suitable for detecting pro‐cognitive effects of cholinergic augmentation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.