title: Effect of curcumin on quinpirole induced compulsive checking: An approach to determine the predictive and construct validity of the model.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Disorders of anxiety vary in severity to a wide extent, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) persists as the fourth most common form of mental illness and is reported to be associated with memory impairment, necessitating effective means of treatment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To study the effect of curcumin on OCD.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study includes the determination of effect of curcumin at 5 and 10 mg/kg in quinpirole (0.5 mg/kg) -induced model of OCD, memory retention and brain monoamine levels in rats.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant improvement from the obsessive-compulsive symptoms induced by quinpirole was observed in curcumin treated rats; curcumin showed a protective effect on memory task. An increase in serotonin levels and a decrease in the dopamine levels were observed in curcumin treated rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Curcumin treatment had shown a protective effect in OCD with considerable influence on brain monoamine levels, thus providing an evidence for the predictive and construct validity of the model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Bapatla College of Pharmacy, Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh, India - 522101.
authors.forename: Jithendra
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chimakurthy
authors.forename: Talasila Egk
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Murthy