Abstract |
To date, no pharmacological agent has been confirmed to lessen electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)-induced memory deficits. BR-16A is an herbal preparation, containing various organic extracts, used in India for the enhancement of cognition (among other applications). In the present study, adult male Sprague-Dawley rats received six once-daily electroconvulsive shocks (ECSs). Half the animals were treated with BR-16A (200 mg/kg/day) for 1 week before ECS, during the ECS course, and during the post-ECS learning assessment phase; the remaining animals received vehicle alone. In experiment 1, rats (n = 16/treatment group) were preassessed for learning on days 3 and 5 of exposure to the Hebb-Williams complex maze and were reassessed after comparable exposure to the maze starting from the second day post-ECS. In experiment 2, rats (n = 9/treatment group) were preassessed for number of trials to satisfactory learning and number of wrong arm entries in a T-maze and were reassessed on the second day post-ECS. The learning preassessments were conducted just prior to the commencement of the BR-16A/vehicle treatments. In both experiments, rats receiving BR-16A performed significantly better than controls. It is concluded that BR-16A protects against ECS-induced anterograde amnesia. BR-16A may therefore have scope in minimizing ECT-induced learning deficits.
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Authors | C Andrade, J Joseph, J S Chandra, B V Vankataraman, M A Rani |
Journal | Convulsive therapy
(Convuls Ther)
Vol. 10
Issue 1
Pg. 59-64
(Mar 1994)
ISSN: 0749-8055 [Print] United States |
PMID | 8055293
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
- Mentat
- Plant Extracts
- Psychotropic Drugs
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Topics |
- Amnesia, Retrograde
(drug therapy, etiology, psychology)
- Animals
- Electroshock
(adverse effects)
- Learning
(drug effects)
- Male
- Medicine, Ayurvedic
- Plant Extracts
(therapeutic use)
- Psychotropic Drugs
(therapeutic use)
- Rats
- Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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