title: The neurosteroids DHEA and DHEAS may influence cognitive performance by altering affective state.
abstract: The effects of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its sulfate ester, Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) on performance in various cognitive and affective tasks were investigated. Ovariectomized rats (n = 48) received 0.0, 3.0, or 7.5 mg/kg s.c. of DHEA or DHEAS suspended in 10% ethanol/sesame oil v/v. For the cognitive tasks (water maze, Y-maze, passive avoidance, and object recognition), subjects were injected after training trials. For the affective tasks (tail flick, open field, and elevated plus-maze), subjects were injected 1 or 24 h prior to testing. DHEA deceased latencies and trials to criterion in the water maze, and decreased motor activity in the open field at 24 h postinjection. DHEAS decreased latencies to the goal arm in the Y-maze and reduced motoricity and the number of entries into the center of a brightly lit open field, both 1 and 24 h after injection. These findings suggest that DHEA and DHEAS may alter performance on cognitive tasks due to motor or anxiety effects.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Program, Connecticut College, New London 06320, USA. cafrye@cnsunix.albany.edu
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Frye
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Lacey
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013256:Steroids / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D013256:Steroids; D003687:Dehydroepiandrosterone; D019314:Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate