Influence of eserine on the learning and memory facilitating effect of central stimulants

In experiments with albino rats trained and tested for memory in a multi-chamber maze using various motor tasks it has been found that eserine in a dose of 0.50 mg/kg, applied 20 min before training, improves learning, whereas in doses of 0.30 and 0.50 mg/kg, applied before or immediately after training, it improves retention in the experimental animals. The central stimulants: caffeine 5 mg/kg, strychnine 1 mg/kg and amphetamine 1 mg/kg, administered i.p. before training, improve learning and retention. Caffeine (20 mg/kg), strychnine 1 mg/kg and amphetamine 1 mg/kg, applied after training, improve the retention of the experimental animals. The central stimulants, applied on the background of 0.10 mg/kg eserine before training or 0.30 mg/kg immediately after training, significantly potentiate their learning and/or memory-facilitating effect. It is assumed that eserine potentiates the positive effects of the stimulants on retention, activating moderately the cerebral cholinergic structures. This probably facilitates the interaction of the stimulants with the mechanisms regulating the memory processes.