**8.4. AVP and male human learning and memory**

Administration of an AVP analog enhances memory in human males [196, 197]. Treatment of boys with learning disorders with acute or chronic AVP increases the ability to remember stories. However, synthetic AVP may only affect reaction time, not memory [198]. In elderly humans, however, repeated intranasal AVP does not improve long term memory [199]. One hypothesis is that the memory enhancing effects of AVP are mediated by a general increase in arousal [200], although animal work suggests that AVP has specific effects on the molecular mechanisms of long term memory consolidation [201, 202].
