title: Cannabis-induced Moto-Cognitive Dysfunction in Wistar Rats: Ameliorative Efficacy of Nigella Sativa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cannabis is a widely used illicit drug with various threats of personality syndrome, and Nigella sativa has been widely implicated as having therapeutic efficacy in many neurological diseases. The present study investigates the ameliorative efficacy of Nigella sativa oil (NSO) on cannabis-induced moto-cognitive defects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scopolamine (1 mg/kg i.p.) was given to induce dementia as a standard base line for cannabis (20 mg/kg)-induced cognitive impairment, followed by an oral administration of NSO (1 ml/kg) for 14 consecutive days. The Morris water maze (MWM) paradigm was used to assess the memory index, the elevated plus maze was used for anxiety-like behaviour, and the open field test was used for locomotor activities; thereafter, the rats were sacrificed and their brains were removed for histopathologic studies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cannabis-like Scopolamine caused memory impairment, delayed latency in the MWM, and anxiety-like behaviour, coupled with alterations in the cerebello-hippocampal neurons. The post-treatment of rats with NSO mitigated cannabis-induced cognitive dysfunction as with scopolamine and impaired anxiety-like behaviour by increasing open arm entry, line crossing, and histological changes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed ameliorative effects of NSO make it a promising agent against moto-cognitive dysfunction and cerebelo-hippocampal alterations induced by cannabis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Aminu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imam
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Moyosore Saliu
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ajao
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Abdulbasit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Wahab Imam
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Abdulmajeed
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Abdulmumin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Olayemi Joseph
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Olajide
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Shih-Pai, Taipei 11221, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Musa Iyiola
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ajibola
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Abdulmusawir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alli-Oluwafuyi
authors.affiliation: Advanced Medical and Dental Institute, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 13200 Kepala Batas, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Wasiu Gbolahan
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Balogun
keywords: anxiety; brain; cannabis; spatial memory; toxicity