title: Adverse effects of dextromethorphan on the spatial learning of rats in the Morris water maze.
abstract: The effects of the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist dextromethorphan on spatial learning were assessed using the Morris water maze. Dextromethorphan was administered to 4 groups of rats in 10, 20, 30, and 40 mg/kg doses. An additional group of rats was administered saline to serve as a vehicle control group. Dextromethorphan impaired learning dose dependently in the initial training phase of the experiment. During the probe trial, dose-dependent performance deficits were noted in the first 15 s of the trial only. Search strategy differences between the lowest and highest dose groups were also observed during the probe trial. During the reversal training phase, when the platform was moved to a new location, the dose-dependent impairment was seen again, but the 40 mg/kg group perseverated to the former location longer than the other groups. A cued control trial indicated that in addition to the learning impairment produced, the highest dose of dextromethorphan may also impair sensory-motor coordination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bane
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Indermaur
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Avery
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D003915:Dextromethorphan / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D018691:Excitatory Amino Acid Antagonists; D003915:Dextromethorphan