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.
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Authors | Julia Reinholz, Oliver Skopp, Caterina Breitenstein, Hilke Winterhoff, Stefan Knecht |
Journal | Experimental brain research
(Exp Brain Res)
Vol. 192
Issue 4
Pg. 745-9
(Feb 2009)
ISSN: 1432-1106 [Electronic] Germany |
PMID | 19043682
(Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
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Chemical References |
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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)
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