The effects of pregabalin on psycho-motor abilities and cognitive processes in mice

The purpose of our study was the experimental research on the effects of pregabalin in two behavioural models in mice.

The experiment was carried out with white Swiss mice treated intraperitoneally as follows: Group I (Control): distilled water 0.1 ml/10 g body weight; Group II (PGB 10): 10 mg/kbw pregabalin; Group III (PGB 20): 20 mg/kbw pregabalin. The psychomotor abilities of pregabalin were tested on a LE-8811 Actimeter device (Panlab), in order to investigate both global motor behaviour and number of escape attempts during an eight-minute interval session. The exploration of memory processes performance was assessed using the Y-maze model, based on the natural tendency of mice to explore new environment. Data were analyzed using SPSS 13.0 for Windows software. The experimental protocols were implemented according the guidelines of "Grigore T. Popa" University Committee for Research and Ethical Issues.

The administration of pregabalin resulted in a dose-dependent reduction of mice horizontal and vertical movements, statistically significant compared to the Control group. The administration of both PGB10 and PGB20 induced no modifications of the spontaneous alternation percent; also, it did not influence the arm entries number compared to Control group in Y-maze test.

The results reflect a significant dose-dependent diminution of number of escape attempts, exploratory and self-maintenance spontaneous behavior after pregabalin treatment, which could be correlated with an anxiolytic effect. Moreover, the study proved that pregabalin did not modify the animal cognitive processes performance or influence short-term memory of mice in the Y-maze test.