AUTHOR=Colzato Lorenza , Jongkees Bryant , Sellaro Roberta , Hommel Bernhard 

TITLE=Working Memory Reloaded: Tyrosine Repletes Updating in the N-Back Task

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00200

DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00200

ISSN=1662-5153

ABSTRACT=<p>In this study we tested the idea that the food supplement <sc>l</sc>-Tyrosine (TYR) repletes resources required for cognitive-control operations. We investigated whether the “updating” (and monitoring) of working memory (WM) representations, a key cognitive-control function, can be promoted by administering TYR, the biochemical precursor of dopamine. Participants performed an <italic>N</italic>-back task where we compared the WM-demanding 2-back condition with the WM-undemanding 1-back condition. As expected, TYR promoted performance in the more demanding (2-back) but not in the easier (1-back) condition, suggesting that TYR selectively targets cognitive-control operations. This result suggests that TYR can replete cognitive resources when more control is needed and, more generally, that food can act as a cognitive enhancer.</p>