Acute blockade of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors facilitates spatial learning in rats.
Corticosteroids can facilitate or impair learning and memory processes. We found that the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU38486 injected locally into the dorsal hippocampus dose-dependently improved the performance of male Wistar rats in the water maze 24 h after treatment. This observation suggests a discrete specificity of hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors in facilitation of memory.
Oitzl
M S
MS
Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research (LACDR), Division of Medical Pharmacology, University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9503, 2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands. m.oitzl@lacdr.leidenuniv.nl
Fluttert
M
M
de Kloet
E R
ER
D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology; D006727:Hormone Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015735:Mifepristone / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D006727:Hormone Antagonists; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D015735:Mifepristone