title: Modafinil ameliorates cognitive deficits induced by maternal separation and sleep deprivation.
abstract: Animals exposed to an early adverse event may be more susceptible to a second source of stress later in life, and these stressors may have additive deleterious effects. Sleep deprivation is known to be a stressor, affecting multiple body functions such as the cognition. Modafinil enhances working memory and attention in healthy non-sleep deprived subjects and in animal models of sleep deprivation. The first aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of maternal separation (MS) combined with paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) in adulthood on recognition memory in rats. Second, we aimed to evaluate whether the administration of modafinil would be able to ameliorate memory deficits induced by MS and PSD. Wistar rat pups were initially distributed into MS and handling (H) groups, with their litters standardized in 4 females and 4 males. In adulthood, the male rats were submitted to PSD or control condition, being redistributed afterwards in modafinil- or vehicle-treatment immediately after the training session of object recognition task. PSD did not potentiate the cognitive deficit due to MS. However, modafinil was able to recover memory impairments associated to PSD and also to MS in the neonatal period. This study demonstrates for the first time that modafinil ameliorates cognitive deficits associated to MS and to PSD in adulthood, independent from MS in the neonatal period.
authors.affiliation: Neurobiology and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Faculty of Biosciences, Pontifical Catholic University, 90619-900 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vanessa Athaíde
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Camila
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hirotsu
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Matos
authors.forename: Tathiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alvarenga
authors.forename: Gabriel Natan
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Pires
authors.forename: Flávio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kapczinski
authors.forename: Nadja
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schröder
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tufik
authors.forename: Monica Levy
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Andersen
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006234:Handling, Psychological; D000077408:Modafinil; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D000077408:Modafinil
keywords: Memory; Modafinil; Object recognition; Paradoxical sleep deprivation; Post-natal stress