Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-jtdwj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-28T11:45:44.250Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The facilitative effects of glucose ingestion on memory retrieval in younger and older adults: is task difficulty or task domain critical?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 March 2007

Leigh M. Riby ,
Hazel McMurtrie ,
Jonathan Smallwood ,
Carrie Ballantyne ,
Andrew Meikle  and
Emily Smith
Leigh M. Riby*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
Hazel McMurtrie
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
Jonathan Smallwood
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2329 West Mall, Vancouver V6T 1Z4, Canada
Carrie Ballantyne
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
Andrew Meikle
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
Emily Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, 70 Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, UK
*
*corresponding author: Dr Leigh M. Riby, fax +44 (0)141 3313636, email L.Riby@gcal.ac.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The ingestion of a glucose-containing drink has been shown to improve cognitive performance, particularly memory functioning. However, it remains unclear as to the extent to which task domain and task difficulty moderate the glucose enhancement effect. The aim of this research was to determine whether boosts in performance are restricted to particular classes of memory (episodic v. semantic) or to tasks of considerable cognitive load. A repeated measures (25g glucose v saccharin), counterbalanced, double-blind design was used with younger and older adults. Participants performed a battery of episodic (e.g. paired associate learning) and semantic memory (e.g. category verification) tasks under low and high cognitive load. Electrophysiological measures (heart rate and galvanic skin response) of arousal and mental effort were also gathered. The results indicated that whilst glucose appeared to aid episodic remembering, cognitive load did not exaggerate the facilitative effect. For semantic memory, there was little evidence to suggest that glucose can boost semantic memory retrieval even when the load was manipulated. One exception was that glucose facilitated performance during the difficult category fluency task. Regardless, the present findings are consistent with the domain-specific account in which glucose acts primarily on the hippocampal region, which is known to support episodic memory. The possible contribution of the hippocampus in semantic memory processing is also discussed.

Keywords

GlucoseEpisodic memorySemantic memoryCognitive performanceTask difficulty

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 95 , Issue 2 , February 2006 , pp. 414 - 420
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2006

References

Allen, JBGross, AMAloia, MSBillingsley, CThe effects of glucose on nonmemory cognitive functioning in the elderly. Neuropsychologia 1996 34 459–465Google Scholar
Bowles, NLSemantic processes that serve picture naming. In Adult Information Processing:Limit on Loss PP Cerella, JRybash, JHoyer, WCommons, MLondonAcademic Press. 1993 303–326Google Scholar
Brown, WPBelfast Category Norms 1971–1977. Belfast: Department of Psychology Queen's University of Belfast.1978Google Scholar
Coltheart, MThe MRC Psycholinguistic Database. Q J Exp Psychol A 1981 33 497–505Google Scholar
Craft, SMurphy, CWemstrom, JGlucose effects on complex memory and nonmemory tasks – the influence of age, sex, and glucoregulatory response. Psychobiology 1994 22 (2) 95–105Google Scholar
Craik, FIM A functional account of age differences in memory. In Human Memory and Cognitive Capabilities, Mechanisms, and Performances Klix, FHagendorf, HNew YorkElsevier Science 1986 409–422Google Scholar
Dunnett, SCholinergic grafts, memory and ageing. Trends Neurosc 1991 14 371–376Google Scholar
Folstein, MFFolstein, SEMcHugh, PR‘Mini-mental state’:a practical method for grading cognition stroke of patients for the clinicians J Psychiatr Res 1975 12 189–198Google Scholar
Foster, JKLidder, PGSunram, SGlucose and memory: fractionation of enhancement effects? Psychopharmacology 1998 137 259–270Google Scholar
Fucetola, RNewcomer, JWCraft, SMelson, AKAge and dose dependent glucose induced increases in memory and attention in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 1999 88 (1) 1–13Google Scholar
Hall, JLGonder-Frederick, LAChewning, WWSilveira, JGold, PEGlucose enhancement of performance on memory tests in young and aged humans. Neuropsychologia 1989 27 1129–1138Google Scholar
Kaplan, RJGreenwood, CEWinocur, GWolever, TMSCognitive performance is associated with glucose regulation in healthy elderly persons and can be enhanced with glucose and dietary carbohydrates. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 72 825–836CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kennedy, DOScholey, ABGlucose administration, heart rate and cognitive performance: effects of increasing mental effort. Psychopharmacology 2000 149 687–700Google Scholar
Kennedy, DOScholey, ABGinseng: potential for the enhancement of cognitive performance and mood. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2003 75 687–700Google Scholar
Lezak, MDNeuropsychological Assessment 2nd ed. p. New York: Oxford University Press. 1995 545Google Scholar
Manning, CARagozzino, MEGold, PEGlucose enhancement of memory in patients with probable senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Neurobiol Aging 1993 14 523–528CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manning, CAStone, WSKorol, DLGold, PEGlucose enhancement of 24-h memory retrieval in healthy elderly humans. Behav Brain Res 1998 93 (1/2) 71–76CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manns, JRHopkins, roSquire, lrSemantic memory and the human hippocampus. Neuron 2003 38 127–133Google Scholar
Meikle, aRiby, lmStollery, bThe impact of glucose ingestion and gluco-regulatory control on cognitive performance: a comparison of younger and older adults. Hum Psychopharmacol:Clinical and Experimental 2004 19 523–535Google Scholar
Meikle, aRiby, lmStollery, bMemory processing and the glucose facilitation effect: the effects of stimulus difficulty and memory load Nutr Neurosci (In the Press) 2005Google Scholar
Messier, CGlucose improvement of memory: a review. Eur J Pharmacol 2004 490 33–57Google Scholar
Messier, CDurkin, TMrabet, ODestrade, CMemoryimproving action of glucose – indirect evidence for a facilitation of hippocampal acetylcholine synthesis. Behav Brain Res 1990 39 (2) 135–143Google Scholar
Messier, CGagnon, MGlucose regulation and cognitive functions: relation to Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. Behav Brain Res 1996 75 (1/2) 1–11CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messier, cGagnon, mKnott, vEffect of glucose and peripheral glucose regulation on memory in the elderly. Neurobiol Aging 1997 18 297–304Google Scholar
Messier, cTsiakas, mGagnon, mDesrochers, aAwad, NEffect of age and glucoregulation on cognitive performance. Neurobiol Aging 2003 24 985–1003Google Scholar
Pechineda, ASmith, CAThe affective significance of skin conductance activity during a difficult problem solving task. Cogn Emotion 1996 10 481–503CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riby, LMThe impact of age and task domain on cognitive performance: a meta-analytic review of the glucose facilitation effect. Brain Impairment 2004 5 (2) 145–165CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Riby, LMMeikle, AGlover, CThe effects of age, glucose ingestion and gluco-regulatory control on episodic memory. Age Ageing 2004 33 483–487Google Scholar
Saller, CFKreamer, LDGlucose-concentrations in brain and blood – regulation by dopamine receptor subtypes Brain Res 1991 546 235–240Google Scholar
Scholey, ABHarper, SKennedy, DOCognitive demand and blood glucose. Physiol Behav 2001 73 585–592Google Scholar
Sunram-Lea, SIFoster, JKDurlach, PPerez, CInvestigation into the significance of task difficulty and divided allocation of resources on the glucose memory facilitation effect. Psychopharmacology 2002 160 387–397Google Scholar