scholarly journals The Effects of Acute and Binge 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Exposure on Learning and Memory in Rats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Charlotte Jane Kay
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Drug Tolerance ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Radial Arm Maze ◽  
Memory Errors ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
And Training ◽  
Task Acquisition

<p>When rats are administered acute doses of MDMA they produce significantly more reference memory errors than working memory errors in the partially baited radial arm maze (Kay et al, 2009). The potential role of serotonin and dopamine in this effect was examined by administering the serotonin agonist Citalopram and the dopamine agonist GBR12909. GBR12909 produced significantly more reference memory errors, while Citalopram tended to produce more working memory errors. Administration of the D1 agonist A68930 and the D2 agonist Quinpirole predominantly produced reference memory errors, but to a lesser extent than acute MDMA administration. Low doses of both drugs produced a synergistic effect, more similar to that seen with acute MDMA administration. These findings suggest dopamine plays a role in the reference memory effect seen with MDMA exposure in the partially baited radial maze. In the second half of the thesis binge regimes of MDMA (4 x 10mg/kg) were administered to rats. When there was a gap of eight weeks between dosing and training the ability to acquire the radial arm maze was not significantly impaired. When this MDMA regime was repeated with a three-day gap between dosing and training it produced a significant but transient deficit in performance. When later challenged with acute doses of MDMA (4.0 mg/kg) the binge treated rats were less impaired than saline controls indicating drug tolerance. In an additional study that used a three-day delay between dosing and training a significant impairment in task acquisition was found. This deficit appeared to be long-term as the MDMA treated rats were impaired when the rules of task were changed suggesting a deficit in cognitive flexibility. Again when subjects were challenged with acute MDMA there was evidence of drug tolerance. The final study examined the effects of repeated MDMA exposure on task acquisition by administering acute doses of MDMA or saline once a week after rats had previously been treated with either a binge regime of MDMA or saline. MDMA exposure significantly impaired task acquisition and produced residual drug effects in the binge treated MDMA group the day after acute drug administration. However evidence of behavioural tolerance in this study was mixed due to a floor effect where performance of the binge MDMA group was so poor at the beginning of the study. In conclusion MDMA exposure impaired accuracy with reference memory processes were more affected than working memory processes. The underlying nature of this impairment remains unclear but it may be due to a long-term memory deficit, an impairment in understanding task rules or a perseverative pattern of responding. These findings imply human Ecstasy users may show deficits in acquiring information and may experience deficits in cognitive flexibility</p>

scholarly journals The Effects of Acute and Binge 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) Exposure on Learning and Memory in Rats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Charlotte Jane Kay
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Drug Tolerance ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Radial Arm Maze ◽  
Memory Errors ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
And Training ◽  
Task Acquisition

<p>When rats are administered acute doses of MDMA they produce significantly more reference memory errors than working memory errors in the partially baited radial arm maze (Kay et al, 2009). The potential role of serotonin and dopamine in this effect was examined by administering the serotonin agonist Citalopram and the dopamine agonist GBR12909. GBR12909 produced significantly more reference memory errors, while Citalopram tended to produce more working memory errors. Administration of the D1 agonist A68930 and the D2 agonist Quinpirole predominantly produced reference memory errors, but to a lesser extent than acute MDMA administration. Low doses of both drugs produced a synergistic effect, more similar to that seen with acute MDMA administration. These findings suggest dopamine plays a role in the reference memory effect seen with MDMA exposure in the partially baited radial maze. In the second half of the thesis binge regimes of MDMA (4 x 10mg/kg) were administered to rats. When there was a gap of eight weeks between dosing and training the ability to acquire the radial arm maze was not significantly impaired. When this MDMA regime was repeated with a three-day gap between dosing and training it produced a significant but transient deficit in performance. When later challenged with acute doses of MDMA (4.0 mg/kg) the binge treated rats were less impaired than saline controls indicating drug tolerance. In an additional study that used a three-day delay between dosing and training a significant impairment in task acquisition was found. This deficit appeared to be long-term as the MDMA treated rats were impaired when the rules of task were changed suggesting a deficit in cognitive flexibility. Again when subjects were challenged with acute MDMA there was evidence of drug tolerance. The final study examined the effects of repeated MDMA exposure on task acquisition by administering acute doses of MDMA or saline once a week after rats had previously been treated with either a binge regime of MDMA or saline. MDMA exposure significantly impaired task acquisition and produced residual drug effects in the binge treated MDMA group the day after acute drug administration. However evidence of behavioural tolerance in this study was mixed due to a floor effect where performance of the binge MDMA group was so poor at the beginning of the study. In conclusion MDMA exposure impaired accuracy with reference memory processes were more affected than working memory processes. The underlying nature of this impairment remains unclear but it may be due to a long-term memory deficit, an impairment in understanding task rules or a perseverative pattern of responding. These findings imply human Ecstasy users may show deficits in acquiring information and may experience deficits in cognitive flexibility</p>

Working Memory and Reference Memory in Adult Rats following Limbic Seizures Induced at 21 or 90 Days of Age

2002 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 729-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Kinoshameg ◽  
M. A. Persinger
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Radial Maze ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Memory Errors ◽  
Brain Organization ◽  
Adult Rats ◽  
Limbic Seizures ◽  
Systemic Injection

Rats were either seized or not seized at 21 days of age (weaning) or at 90 days of age with a single systemic injection of lithium (3 mEq/kg) and pilocarpine (30 mg/kg). When tested as adults (120 days of age) for spatial memory in the Olton radial maze, the rats that had been seized as adults exhibited about five times more working (short-term) memory errors than the other three groups which did not differ significantly from one another. The numbers of errors for long-term (reference) memory did not differ significantly among the four groups. The deficits in working memory for the group seized as weanlings and reported previously were not replicated. One possible explanation for this discrepancy might be differential effects upon brain organization associated with seizures evoked by injecting the pilocarpine 24 hr. rather than 4 hr. after the lithium.

scholarly journals The Imidazoline Receptor Antagonists Idazoxan and Efaroxan Improve the Spatial and Reference Memory in Rats

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (12) ◽  
pp. 3577-3580
Author(s):  
Gabriela Rusu-Zota ◽  
Andrei Luca ◽  
Gabriela Dumitrita Stanciu ◽  
Victorita Sorodoc ◽  
Maria Magdalena Leon-Constantin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Radial Arm Maze ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Distilled Water ◽  
Memory Errors ◽  
Receptor Antagonists ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Imidazoline Receptor ◽  
Group I

Experimental studies and clinical trials revealed the complex interconnections between imidazoline system and various other mediators such as epinephrine, norepinephrine; thus, explain their involvement in the pathophysiological mechanisms of different motor, behavioral and cognitive disturbances. In this study, we tested the influence induced by idazoxan and efaroxan on the cognitive performances in rats. Groups of 6 adult male Wistar rats were treated intraperitoneally according to the following protocol: group I (Control): distilled water 0.3 ml/100g; group II (IDZ): 3 mg/kg idazoxan and group III (EFR): 1 mg/kg efaroxan. The effects of the imidazoline receptor antagonists on the rats cognitive functions were assessed using the radial-arm maze, in order to count the time spent into the arms, the number of baited arms visited, but previously explored (working memory errors); the time taken to consume all baits and the number of entering in non-baited arms (reference memory errors). The data were expressed as mean +/- standard deviation, and statistically analyzed using SPSS version 17.0 Software for Windows, followed by ANOVA one-way method. The administration of IDZ, as well as of EFR was accompanied by a substantial diminution in the number of working memory errors, and the period of time to consume all baits, statistically significant (p[0.01) compared to control group. The use of these two imidazoline receptors antagonists resulted in a considerable decrease in the reference memory errors number, statistically significant (p[0.01) compared to the group treated with distilled water. The influence of IDZ on the evaluated parameters was more accentuated than the effects induced by EFR in all sessions of testing, in this behavioral experimental model. Our findings indicate that treatment with both imidazoline receptor antagonists, idazoxan and efaroxan was associated by a facilitation of the short-term memory retention, an enhancement of discriminative spatial learning, and an improvement of long-term memory performance in radial arm maze in rats.

Effects of altered cholinergic function on working and reference memory in the rat

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Beninger ◽  
B. A. Wirsching ◽  
Khem Jhamandas ◽  
Roland J. Boegman ◽  
Sherif R. El-Defrawy
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Choline Acetyltransferase ◽  
Radial Maze ◽  
Cholinergic Neurons ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Nucleus Basalis ◽  
Nucleus Basalis Magnocellularis ◽  
Memory Errors ◽  
Biochemical Assays ◽  
Alternation Task

Many data suggest that the brain's cholinergic neurons participate in the control of memory and it has been suggested that cholinergic systems are involved differentially in working and reference memory. To test this hypothesis the effects on memory of unilateral injections of the neurotoxins, quinolinic acid or kainic acid into the cortically projecting cholinergic cells of the nucleus basalis magnocellularis (nbm) were evaluated. In experiment 1, quinolinate-injected (n = 7) and sham-operated (n = 7) rats were tested in a T-maze alternation task that requires working memory. Lesion rats performed significantly more poorly than shams and subsequent biochemical assays of cortical choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activity revealed significant reductions in the lesion rats. In experiment 2, kainate-injected (n = 9) and sham-operated (n = 8) rats were trained in an eight-arm radial maze with only four arms baited. Lesion rats made significantly more working memory errors (entries into baited arms from which the food had already been collected) than reference memory errors (entries into never baited arms). CAT assays showed that the lesion led to a decrease in cortical CAT with no significant change in hippocampal CAT. The results of these studies support the hypothesis that cholinergic neurons of the basocortical system may be differentially involved in working and reference memory.

Patterns of verbal learning and memory in traumatic brain injury

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 574-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
GLENN CURTISS ◽  
RODNEY D. VANDERPLOEG ◽  
JAN SPENCER ◽  
ANDRES M. SALAZAR
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Central Executive ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Memory Processes

CVLT and WMS–R Digit Span variables were used to calculate indexes of seven specific short- and long-term memory processes: working memory span and central executive functions, and long-term memory encoding, consolidation, retention, retrieval, control abilities. Scores on these indexes were then cluster-analyzed to determine whether subtypes of memory performance exist that correspond to deficits in these theoretical memory constructs. Parallel analyses were conducted with two large samples (N = 150 and N = 151) of individuals who had sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Findings showed that TBI results in subgroups of memory disorders with specific deficits in consolidation, retention, and retrieval processes. Control problems (keeping track of list versus non-list items) only appeared in conjunction with retrieval deficits. Working memory span and central executive functioning (i.e., the ability to manipulate information in working memory) do not appear to be deficits characteristic of TBI as no such clusters emerged in the analyses. By using specific indexes of memory processes, and in contrast to previous studies, patterns of memory dysfunction were found that correspond to deficits in theoretically meaningful memory constructs. (JINS, 2001, 7, 574–585.)

Political Ideology and Executive Functioning: The Effect of Conservatism and Liberalism on Cognitive Flexibility and Working Memory Performance

2020 ◽  
pp. 194855062091318
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Buechner ◽  
Joshua J. Clarkson ◽  
Ashley S. Otto ◽  
Edward R. Hirt ◽  
M. Cony Ho
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Political Ideology ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Different Levels

Although models of political ideology traditionally focus on the motivations that separate conservatives and liberals, a growing body of research is directly exploring the cognitive factors that vary due to political ideology. Consistent with this emerging literature, the present research proposes that conservatives and liberals excel at tasks of distinct working memory processes (i.e., inhibition and updating, respectively). Consistent with this hypothesis, three studies demonstrate that conservatives are more likely to succeed at response inhibition and liberals are more likely to succeed at response updating. Moreover, this effect is rooted in different levels of cognitive flexibility and independent of respondents’ demographics, intelligence, religiosity, and motivation. Collectively, these findings offer an important perspective on the cognitive factors that delineate conservatism and liberalism, the role of cognitive flexibility in specific working memory processes, and the impact of political ideology on a multitude of behaviors linked to inhibition and updating (e.g., creativity, problem-solving, self-control).

scholarly journals Aqueous Root Bark Extract of Daniellia oliveri (Hutch. & Dalz.) (Fabaceae) Protects Neurons against Diazepam-Induced Amnesia in Mice

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Galba Jean Beppe ◽  
Lea Blondelle Kenko Djoumessie ◽  
Eglantine Keugong Wado ◽  
Hervé Hervé Ngatanko Abaïssou ◽  
Balbine Kamleu Nkwingwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Extract ◽  
Reference Memory ◽  
Positive Control ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Bark Extract ◽  
Radial Arm Maze ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Root Bark ◽  
Memory Errors ◽  
Daniellia Oliveri

Daniellia oliveri (DO) is a traditional medicinal plant used for the treatment of diseases such as inflammation, schizophrenia, and epilepsy in Nigeria, Kenya, Congo, and Cameroon. This study was carried out to evaluate the potential neuroprotection effect of the aqueous root bark extract of Daniellia oliveri against diazepam-induced amnesia in mice. Thirty-six adult male mice were distributed into six groups: the three test groups received Daniellia oliveri root bark extract (100, 200, and 300 mg/kg), the normal control group received distilled water (10 ml/kg), a positive control group received piracetam (150 mg/kg), and the negative control received diazepam (2.5 mg/kg). Learning and memory were evaluated using the radial arm maze and the T-maze. Biomarkers of oxidative stress were also quantified in mice brains. Statistical analyses were performed using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Daniellia oliveri root bark aqueous extract decreased the number of working memory errors and number of reference memory errors in amnesic mice evaluated in the radial arm maze. Also, an increase in glutathione activity and a decrease in malondialdehyde levels were noted in the hippocampi homogenate of the extract-treated mice as compared to the diazepam-demented but untreated group. Moreover, pretreatment with Daniellia oliveri aqueous root bark extract reversed the decrease in hippocampal cell density observed in the nontreated diazepam group. Taken together, these results suggest that the aqueous extract of DO leaves possesses antioxidant potential and might provide an opportunity for the management of neurological abnormalities in amnesic conditions.

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