[Effect of citicoline on spatial learning and memory of rats after focal cerebral ischemia].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of citicoline on spatial learning and memory of rats after focal cerebral ischemia.


METHODS
The rats were randomly divided into sham-operation group, ischemia control group and citicoline group. In the later two groups, focal cerebral ischemia model was established by introducing an intraluminal filament into the left middle cerebral artery, and citicoline (500 mg/kg) or 0.9% NaCl was administered intraperitoneally once a day for 2 weeks after the operation. The rats in the sham-operation group were not subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) with intraluminal filament. The spatial learning and memory functions of the rats were evaluated by Morris water maze test 15 days after MCAO for 5 days.


RESULTS
The rats in ischemia control group exhibited serious spatial learning and memory deficits in both place navigation test and spatial probe test. In the former test, the mean escape latency of citicoline-treated rats were significantly shorter than that of ischemia control rats (P<0.01), and in the latter test significant diffidence was noted between citicoline and ischemia control groups in the percentage time spent in the former platform quadrant and frequency of crossing the former platform (P<0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Citicoline can improve the spatial learning and memory function of rats after focal cerebral ischemia.
Zhao
Jian-jun
JJ
Research Center for Neuroscience, Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Medicine of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China. zhaoj@mailst.xjtu.edu.cn
Liu
Yong
Y
Chen
Xin-lin
XL
Liu
Jian-xin
JX
Tian
Ying-fang
YF
Zhang
Peng-bo
PB
Kang
Qian-yan
QY
Qiu
Fen
F
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000187:drug effects
D018697:Nootropic Agents; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline