Neuromodulatory Mechanisms оf a Memory Loss Preventive Effect of Alpha-Lipoic Acid in an Experimental Rat Model of Dementia
Abstract This study evaluates some of the neuromodulatory mechanisms of the memory loss preventive effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) in a scopolamine (Sco)-induced rat model of an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) type dementia. Our results confirmed that Sco administration induces significant memory impairment, worsens exploratory behaviour and habituation; it increases acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and induces pathological monoamine content changes in the brain prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. ALA administration prevented to a large extent Sco-induced memory impairment; it also improved exploratory behaviour and preserved habituation; it decreased AChE activity, reversing it to Control group levels and corrected aberrant monoamine levels in the brain prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. According to the data available, this is the first time that ALA-induced changes in AChE and monoamine levels in the brain prefrontal cortex and hippocampus (brain structures related to learning and memory) have been demonstrated in a Sco-induced rat model of AD type dementia.