Martin MM, Weathered SL, Wagner SJ, Wallace DG (2008) Galanthamine does not attenuate attentional or temporal impairments subsequent to cholinergic deafferentation of the cortex or hippocampus. Neuroscience 2008 Abstracts 441.12/T4. Society for Neuroscience, Washington, DC.
Summary: The role of the basal forebrain cholinergic system in early symptomology of dementia of the Alzheimer’s type (DAT) remains an area of intense debate. Although involvement of the basalocortical cholinergic system in attentional processing has been established, function of the septohippocampal cholinergic system remains to be determined. A recent study demonstrated a double dissociation between these systems in the organization of rat food protection behavior that may parallel the attentional impairments and temporal disorientation observed during the early stages of DAT. The current study sought to examine whether an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor currently used for the treatment of DAT (i.e., galanthamine) could attenuate these deficits. Consistent with previous research, intraparenchymal injections of 192 IgG-Saporin into the nucleus basalis or medial septum area in female Long Evans rats produced dissociable effects on the organization of food protection behavior. Specifically, nucleus basalis lesions selectively reduced the number of successful food protection behaviors; whereas, medial septum lesions selectively disrupted the temporal organization of food protection behavior. These impairments were not attenuated by the administration of 3 mg/kg s.c. galanthamine twice daily. Results of this study suggest that the modest benefits afforded by galanthamine administration in DAT patients may not reflect improved attention or temporal orientation. Continued studies aimed at understanding the neural dysfunction underlying these deficits may lead to the development of novel therapeutic agents for DAT.
Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)