Increased anticholinergic levels, memory and judgement

Abstract Clinicians who have contact with patients taking medications which produce cholinergic blockade may need to consider possible links between increased anticholinergic levels and problems in judgement. Although it appears that there has as yet been no direct experimental test of the impact of anticholinergic agents on the judgement of normals or psychiatric patients, a review is offered of two types of basic cognitive findings which strongly suggest that the risk of such a link should figure in clinical cost—benefit analysis. It is then argued that, in the absence of definitive findings, several clinical considerations suggest that the clinician should consider the possible impact of anticholinergics on judgement in his or her practice.