Cerebral embolization impairs memory function and reduces cholinergic marker enzyme activities in various brain...

Cerebral embolization was produced by injecting microspheres into the left internal carotid artery in rats. In these embolized rats, passive avoidance response was impaired at early stages after the embolization (3 days, 1 and 2 weeks), but 4 to 8 weeks later, recovery was achieved. A reduction in the activities of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) in the left side of the occipital cortex and hippocampus was observed in parallel with the impairment of learning behavior. These results suggest that impairments in the septo-hippocampal cholinergic pathways are likely to be closely related with the behavioral impairment in these rats.