HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

Better than normal: improved formation of long-term spatial memory in healthy rats treated with levodopa.

Abstract
Dopaminergic signaling modulates learning and memory. Consequently, treatment with the dopamine precursor levodopa ameliorates memory deficits in murine models of Alzheimer's disease. In healthy humans, administration of L-DOPA increases learning and memory. However, it is unknown whether dopamine-enhanced memory can also be modeled in normal animals. We here investigated if in healthy non-food-deprived rats low and high doses of levodopa (20 and 50 mg levodopa/kg bodyweight) increase spatial learning and long-term memory performance in a radial arm maze. After 4 months, rats treated with levodopa during training had significantly better memory of food rewarded arms than vehicle-treated animals. Interestingly, acute learning curves did not differ between levodopa and vehicle animals. This suggests that enhanced dopaminergic signaling may have predominantly acted on the cortical long-term consolidation of newly acquired spatial information.
AuthorsJulia Reinholz, Oliver Skopp, Caterina Breitenstein, Hilke Winterhoff, Stefan Knecht
JournalExperimental brain research (Exp Brain Res) Vol. 192 Issue 4 Pg. 745-9 (Feb 2009) ISSN: 1432-1106 [Electronic] Germany
PMID19043682 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References
  • Levodopa
Topics
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Animals
  • Levodopa (administration & dosage, pharmacology)
  • Male
  • Maze Learning (drug effects)
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Retention, Psychology (drug effects)
  • Spatial Behavior (drug effects)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: