■γ-氨基丁酸(GABA)是一种主要的抑制性神经递质,在中枢神经系统中起着重要作用。对动物和人类的研究表明,GABA具有减少认知障碍影响的药理潜力,以及增强认知功能和情绪。然而,它对人类注意力和工作记忆的具体影响尚未得到广泛研究。
■在这个随机的,双盲,安慰剂对照,和交叉试验,我们的目的是测试800毫克GABA的给药,溶解在饮料中,严重影响视觉工作记忆(VWM)的维护,以及健康成年人的时间和空间注意力。
■参与者是32名年轻人(16名女性和16名男性)。工作记忆召回精度,空间注意力和时间注意力是通过延迟匹配样本任务来测量的,视觉搜索(VS)任务和快速串行视觉呈现任务,分别。参与者以随机和平衡的顺序完成了两个实验课程(GABA和安慰剂)。在每个会话中,给药后45分钟,他们完成了上述三项认知任务。
■线性混合模型分析结果表明,GABA增加了VS时间,与安慰剂相比,但不影响VS准确性,时间注意力,也不是VWM精度。
■结果表明,GABA增加了VS时间,但不影响时间注意力和记忆,以前报道的对认知的影响可能依赖于其他功能。
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter that plays a significant role in the central nervous system. Studies on both animals and humans show that GABA has the pharmacological potential for reducing the impact of cognitive disorders, as well as enhancing cognitive functions and mood. However, its specific effects on human attention and working memory have not yet been extensively studied.
In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and crossover
trial, we aimed to test whether the administration of 800 mg GABA, dissolved in a drink, acutely affected visual working memory (VWM) maintenance, as well as temporal and spatial attention in healthy adults.
The participants were 32 young adults (16 females and 16 males). Working memory recall precision, spatial attention and temporal attention were measured by a delayed match-to-sample task, a visual search (VS) task and a speeded rapid serial visual presentation task, respectively. Participants completed two experimental sessions (GABA and Placebo) in randomized and counterbalanced order. In each session, 45 min after administration of the drink, they completed all three aforementioned cognitive tasks.
Linear mixed model analysis results showed that GABA increased VS time, compared to the placebo, but did not affect VS accuracy, temporal attention, nor VWM precision.
The results suggest that GABA increases VS time but does not affect temporal attention and memory, and that previously reported effects on cognition might rely on other functions.