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Huperzine A reverses scopolamine- and muscimol-induced memory deficits in chick
1Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. gaoy@s1000.psych.ac.cn
Aim:
To study the effects of huperzine A on disruption of spatial memory induced by scopolamine (a muscarinic antagonist) and muscimol (a GABAA agonist) in passive avoidance task.
Methods:
One-trial passive avoidance task was used to investigate the effects of huperzine A. The avoidance rate was used to evaluate memory retention.
Results:
Both scopolamine (100 ng) and muscimol (50 ng), injected intracranially 5 min before training, resulted in a decreased avoidance rate. Huperzine A (25 ng), injected intracranially 15 min before training, reversed memory deficits induced by scopolamine and muscimol at 30 min after training, and this reversal persisted at least 1 h. The improving effects of huperzine A exhibited a bell-shaped dose-response curve.
Conclusion:
Huperzine A improved the process of memory formation not only by acting as a highly potent and selective inhibitor of AChE, but also by antagonizing effects mediated through the GABAA receptor.