ABSTRACT
Choline is a dietary component and precursor of acetylcholine, a crucial neurotransmitter for memory-related brain functions. In two double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over experiments, we investigated whether the food supplement choline bitartrate improved declarative memory and working memory in healthy, young students one to two hours after supplementation. In experiment 1, 28 participants performed a visuospatial working memory task. In experiment 2, 26 participants performed a declarative picture memorization task. In experiment 3, 40 participants performed a verbal working memory task in addition to the visuospatial working memory and declarative picture task. All tasks were conducted approximately 60 minutes after the ingestion of 2.0-2.5g of either choline bitartrate or placebo. We found that choline did not significantly enhance memory performance during any of the tasks. The null hypothesis that choline does not improve memory performance as compared to placebo was strongly supported by Bayesian statistics. These results are in contrast with animal studies suggesting that choline supplementation boosts memory performance and learning. We conclude that choline likely has no acute effects on cholinergic memory functions in healthy human participants.
Subject(s)
Choline/administration & dosage , Dietary Supplements , Memory/drug effects , Public Health Surveillance , Adolescent , Adult , Choline/adverse effects , Female , Humans , Male , Memory, Short-Term/drug effects , Young AdultABSTRACT
We measured the influence of different drugs on mortality and lung weights in a well known and standardized peritonitis model in rats. The results are: 1. Intraperitoneal injection of immune globulin in high dosage had little effect on our parameters. High mortality and interstitial pulmonary edema were observed. 2. The same results followed injection of 20% human albumin. 3. All animals injected intraperitoneally with a modern antibiotic (Securopen) survived. Interstitial pulmonary edema was observed. 4. The combined injection of an antibiotic and immune globulin (Gamma-Venin) had the best results. None of the rats came down with a lung injection or died.