Carbamazepine enhances discriminative memory in a rat model of epilepsy.
OBJECTIVE
Seizures and antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are the main causes for cognitive impairment in persons with epilepsy. It is still a matter of debate whether carbamazepine (CBZ) improves cognition because of its own psychotropic effects or because it is more effective to treat temporal epilepsy. Our objective was to analyze the performance of CBZ-treated or nontreated pilocarpine epileptic rats in an object-recognition test.


METHODS
Twelve chronic pilocarpine-induced epileptic rats were treated with CBZ, 40 mg/kg, or saline, t.i.d. for 8 days. Twenty-one nonepileptic controls were treated with CBZ or saline. On day 8 of treatment, all rats were tested with an object-recognition paradigm.


RESULTS
No locomotor impairment was detected in chronic epilepsy or CBZ treatment, as exploration during training was not affected. Exploratory behaviors during the choice session were not decreased in rats treated with CBZ; therefore CBZ does not compromise procedural memory. Epileptic rats showed a nonsignificant change in the discrimination performance, and prolonged treatment with CBZ in epileptic rats induced a significant increase in object discrimination during the choice session.


CONCLUSIONS
Even though pilocarpine-induced epileptic animals do not show compromised performance in the spontaneous object-recognition test, prolonged CBZ treatment has a positive effect on a simple object-discrimination task. These results may be associated with the psychotropic effects of CBZ.
Bernardi
Rosane B
RB
Division of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Barros
Helena M T
HM
D000818:Animals; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D004193:Discrimination Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D010862:Pilocarpine; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D012640:Seizures / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology
D000927:Anticonvulsants; D010862:Pilocarpine