D-cycloserine, a partial NMDA receptor-associated glycine-B site agonist, enhances reversal learning, but a cholinesterase inhibitor and nicotine has no effect.
The present study examined the efficacy of single and combined treatments with an anticholinesterase, tetrahydroaminoacridine, nicotine and a glycine-B site partial agonist, D-cycloserine, in alleviating the water maze reversal learning defect induced by a medial septal lesion. D-cycloserine (3 and 10 mg/kg) improved reversal learning. Tetrahydroaminoacridine (1 and 3 mg/kg) and nicotine (0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg) had no effect on reversal learning. A combination of tetrahydroaminoacridine 3 mg/kg or nicotine 0.3 mg/kg and D-cycloserine 10 mg/kg was not more effective than D-cycloserine 10 mg/kg alone in improving reversal learning. This suggests that stimulation of NMDA mechanisms may more effectively improve in medial septal-lesioned rats reversal learning processes than stimulation of cholinergic activity.
Riekkinen
P
P
Department of Neurology, University of Kuopio, Finland.
Ikonen
S
S
Riekkinen
M
M
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D000818:Animals; D000963:Antimetabolites / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000502:physiology; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects; D003523:Cycloserine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003714:Denervation; D005998:Glycine / Q000737:chemistry; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D012193:Reversal Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D012686:Septal Nuclei / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery; D013619:Tacrine / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000963:Antimetabolites; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D013619:Tacrine; D009538:Nicotine; D003523:Cycloserine; D005998:Glycine