Post-trial administration of vasopressin in humans does not enhance memory formation (vasopressin and memory consolidation).
Level 2 - randomized trial
Controlled clinical trial in humans
PubMed 11836010 · doi:10.1016/s0196-9781(01)00625-8
What was done
Healthy human participants were given 40 IU of intranasal vasopressin post-learning to assess its effect on declarative memory consolidation across various intervals of sleep and waking. Central arousal was measured using EEG activity.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values or effect sizes. Post-learning vasopressin had no effect on declarative memory consolidation, though EEG measures indicated a significant arousing effect.
Why it matters
This study indicates that vasopressin does not improve memory consolidation in humans, suggesting any mnemonic benefits seen in other contexts likely operate during memory encoding rather than consolidation.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample size, control group details, demographic specifics, or quantitative results for memory performance and EEG changes.
Cited by
- contradicts Intranasal vasopressin enhances short-term memory performance.