Reynolds JN, Sutherland JM, Sutherland RJ (2003) A novel nitrate ester enhances performance in a spatial memory task in rats with forebrain cholinergic depletion. Neuroscience 2003 Abstracts 626.11. Society for Neuroscience, New Orleans, LA.
Summary: Forebrain acetylcholine (ACh) depletion is associated with a variety of cognitive problems, including memory deficits. Here we evaluate the efficacy of a novel nitrate ester, GT 1061, a potential cognition enhancer, in reversing the memory deficit produced by ACh depletion. Long-Evans hooded rats were stereotaxically injected with 192-IgG-saporin intraventricularly or into basal forebrain cell regions to effect loss of cholinergic cells in the basal forebrain and depletion of cholinergic input to neocortex and hippocampus. The rats were postoperatively tested in a version of the Morris water task in which the location of the hidden platform was changed every second day. This version allows for repeated testing of new spatial learning and 24-hr memory retention. ACh depletion causes statistically reliable deficits in new learning and retention components of the task. We examined the effects of oral (0.5, 1, 5, and 10 mg/kg) and intraperitoneally injected (1, 10, 25 and 50 mg/kg) GT 1061 and donepezil oral (0.05, 0.5, 0.1, 1 mg/kg) and intraperitoneal (0.5 mg/kg) on performance of ACh depleted rats. Both oral and injected GT1061 (10 mg/kg oral, and 1 mg/kg i.p.) and donepezil improved new learning and retention performance. The improvement was especially evident during the 24-hr retention tests when GT1061 treated rats performed as well as normal rats. On this measure 10 mg/kg GT 1061 and 1 mg/kg donepezil administered orally were equipotent.
Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)