Cerebrolysin is a porcine brain derived peptide preparation with potential neurotrophic activity. The effects of a single oral dose of the Cerebrolysin solution (30 ml) on brain bioelectrical activity and on cognitive performance were investigated in healthy elderly people. A single oral dose of Cerebrolysin induced a progressive increase in relative alpha activity power from 1 to 6 hours after treatment in almost all the brain electrodes in elderly control subjects. As compared with baseline alpha power (45.8+/-9.5%), the increase in relative alpha activity in the left occipital electrode (O1) reached significant values at 1 hour (57.2+/-8.5%; p < 0.05), 3 hours (59.4+/-7.6%; p < 0.05) and 6 hours (63.4+/-9.8%; p < 0.05) after Cerebrolysin administration. Enhancement in relative alpha power was accompanied by a generalized decrease in slow delta activity that was maximum at 6 hours after Cerebrolysin intake. A significant improvement in memory performance, evaluated with items of the ADAS cog, was also found in elderly people taken a single dose of oral Cerebrolysin (6.9+/-1.0 errors at baseline versus 4.9+/-1.0 errors after treatment; p < 0.01). This memory improvement was more evident in recognition (2.8+/-0.6 errors vs. 1.5+/-0.7 errors; p < 0.05) than in recall tasks (4.1+/-0.5 errors versus 3.4+/-0.5 errors; ns). These data indicate that Cerebrolysin potentiates brain alpha activity, reduces slow EEG delta frequencies and improves memory performance in healthy elderly humans, suggesting that this compound activates cerebral mechanisms related to attention and memory processes. According to the present results, it seems that oral Cerebrolysin might be useful for the treatment of memory impairment and brain damage in eldely subjects with or without neurodegenerative disorders.