Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Phencyclidine affects memory in a nitric oxide-dependent manner: working and reference memory.

Caroline Wass1, Trevor Archer, Erik Pålsson

  • 1Department of Pharmacology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, POB 431, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden.

Behavioural Brain Research
|August 29, 2006
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Electroconvulsive Treatment for Depression Alters Mitochondrial Serum Metabolites.

Biological psychiatry global open science·2026
Same author

Baseline Mismatch Negativity Amplitude Predicts Direction and Magnitude of Ketamine Effect in Healthy Volunteers: A Disordinal Effect.

Biological psychiatry·2026
Same author

MCMC Correction of Score-Based Diffusion Models for Model Composition.

Entropy (Basel, Switzerland)·2026
Same author

Ancestral FUT2 genetic adaptation confers resistance to modern norovirus and rotavirus infections.

Current opinion in virology·2026
Same author

Cognitive and occupational functioning in bipolar disorder and ADHD: impact of comorbidity.

The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science·2026
Same author

Confidence-based prediction of antibiotic resistance at the patient level.

mBio·2026

Phencyclidine (PCP) impairs spatial learning and memory in rats. However, L-NAME, a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, reversed these cognitive deficits, suggesting a role for nitric oxide in PCP-induced memory dysfunction.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Pharmacology
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Schizophrenia is associated with cognitive deficits, particularly in learning and memory.
  • Phencyclidine (PCP) is a non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist used to model schizophrenia-like cognitive dysfunction.
  • Nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in synaptic plasticity and memory processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of PCP on working and reference memory in rats.
  • To determine if inhibiting nitric oxide synthase with L-NAME can ameliorate PCP-induced cognitive impairments.
  • To explore the role of nitric oxide in spatial memory deficits induced by PCP.

Main Methods:

  • Male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in a Morris water maze task to assess spatial learning and memory.

Related Experiment Videos

  • PCP (2.0 mg/kg) was administered to induce cognitive deficits.
  • L-NAME (10 mg/kg), a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, was used as a pre-treatment.
  • A modified protocol distinguished between working and reference memory acquisition and retention.

    • Main Results:

    • PCP significantly disrupted the acquisition of both working and reference spatial memory.
    • Pre-treatment with L-NAME effectively reversed the memory impairments caused by PCP.
    • L-NAME alone did not significantly affect spatial memory acquisition or retention.

    Conclusions:

    • PCP-induced deficits in spatial learning and memory are mediated, at least in part, by mechanisms involving nitric oxide synthase.
    • Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase may represent a potential therapeutic strategy for cognitive dysfunction in conditions like schizophrenia.
    • This study highlights the complex interplay between NMDA receptor function, nitric oxide signaling, and cognitive processes.