title: Attenuation of scopolamine-induced amnesia in mice.
abstract: Numerous studies suggest that age-related declines in memory storage are related to impairment of central cholinergic systems. Scopolamine, a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, has been used with young humans and other animal species as a model of the cognitive impairment that often accompanies normal and pathological aging. The present study examined whether amnesia induced by scopolamine could be counteracted in mice by arecoline, a cholinergic agonist, or by other drugs, epinephrine or glucose, which have been found to enhance memory in aged rodents and humans. Young mice were administered scopolamine (3 mg/kg, IP) or saline prior to training on an inhibitory avoidance apparatus. Immediately after training, animals received injections of epinephrine (0.01, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2 mg/kg), glucose (10, 100, and 250 mg/kg), arecoline (0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg), or saline. The results indicate that pre-training scopolamine reliably impaired retention assessed in test trials 48 h after training. This impairment was not attenuated by any post-training dose of arecoline; however, immediate post-training injections of both epinephrine (at 0.05 mg/kg) and glucose (at 100 mg/kg) significantly reduced the amnesia. Neither of these drugs was effective if injections were delayed by 1 h after training. These results support the value of scopolamine as a model of age-related memory impairments, but suggest further that these memory deficits may be particularly susceptible to attenuation with non-cholinergic treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 22903-2477.
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Croul
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Gold
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000647:Amnesia / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D001115:Arecoline / Q000494:pharmacology; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005947:Glucose / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D001115:Arecoline; D012601:Scopolamine; D005947:Glucose; D004837:Epinephrine