title: Effects of tacrine on deficits in active avoidance performance induced by AF64A in rats.
abstract: Effects of tacrine (1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9-aminocridine) on memory deficits in rats treated with ethylcholine aziridinium ion (AF64A) were studied using active avoidance test in the two-way shuttle box. Neurotoxin AF64A injected at a dose of 6 nmol (i.c.v., bilaterally) causes nonspecific tissue damage in hippocampal fields CA2 and CA3. Two weeks after treatment with 6 nmol, AF64A active avoidance performance of toxin-treated rats was significantly deteriorated compared to vehicle-treated animals estimated in learning test (68 +/- 3.5 and 83 +/- 3.2% of correct responses, respectively; p < 0.01) and in retention test (53 +/- 5 and 76 +/- 3.6%, respectively; p < 0.01). Under these conditions, chronic treatment with tacrine at a daily dose of 1 mg/kg for 12-14 d reverses the effect of AF64A on the active avoidance performance both in learning (78 +/- 3.2%) and retention (72 +/- 4%) tests. It is supposed that behavioral effects of tacrine considerably depend on a severity of neurodegeneration in the hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiologically Active Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lermontova
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lukoyanov
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serkova
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lukoyanova
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bachurin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001388:Aziridines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002794:Choline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013619:Tacrine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D001388:Aziridines; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D013619:Tacrine; C044894:ethylcholine aziridinium; D002794:Choline