High dietary cholesterol facilitates classical conditioning of the rabbit's nictitating membrane response.
Studies have shown that modifying dietary cholesterol may improve learning and that serum cholesterol levels can be positively correlated with cognitive performance. Rabbits fed a 0, 0.5, 1 or 2% cholesterol diet for eight weeks and 0.12 ppm copper added to their drinking water received trace and then delay classical conditioning pairing tone with corneal air puff during which movement of the nictitating membrane (NM) across the eye was monitored. We found that the level of classical conditioning and conditioning-specific reflex modification (CRM) as well as the number of beta amyloid-labeled neurons in the cortex and hippocampus were a function of the concentration of cholesterol in the diet. The data provide support for the idea that dietary cholesterol may facilitate learning and memory.
Schreurs
Bernard G
BG
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, West Virginia University, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Morgantown, WV, USA. bschreurs@hsc.wvu.edu
Smith-Bell
Carrie A
CA
Darwish
Deya S
DS
Stankovic
Goran
G
Sparks
D Larry
DL
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003300:Copper / Q000097:blood; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D023421:Models, Animal; D009541:Nictitating Membrane / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D011817:Rabbits
D002791:Cholesterol, Dietary; D003300:Copper