J. Dennis Nolan

Enhancement of attention in man with ACTH/MSH 4-10.

Normal men were infused for 4 hr with ACTH/MSH 4-10 or a control solution. Behavioral testing after the infusion indicated that subjects who received ACTH/MSH 4-10 were less anxious and had better visual memory than control subjects but the predominant effect of the heptapeptide was to increase visual attention. It was speculated that ACTH/MSH 4-10 may be uniquely coded for attentional functioning.

Neuropeptide MSH/ACTH 4-10 enhances attention in the mentally retarded.

Twenty adult mentally retarded men were randomly assigned to receive MSH/ACTH 4-10 or a vehicle control solution in a double blind procedure. After an intravenous injection the subjects were presented with an orienting sequence and a series of behavioral tests. Treatment with the peptide resulted in a significant decelerative heart rate response during the test stimulus of the orienting sequence. Improved performance of the intradimensional and extradimensional shift of a visual discrimination procedure was significant for subjects receiving MSH/ACTH 4-10. The pattern of response on the subproblem analysis of the extradimensional shift reflected greater dimensional attention in the subjects treated with the peptide. Attentive subjects given MSH/ACTH 4-10 evidenced significant improvement on a rhythm matching test, a test of spatial localization and a visual retention test. The data were interpreted as indicating that the peptide resulted in improved attention of stimulus processing. It was speculated that MSH/ACTH 4-10 may be unquely coded for perceptor/attentional functioning and may be useful as a treatment for disorders of attention.