Effects of cytidine diphosphate choline on rats with memory deficits

The effects of cytidine diphosphate choline (CDP-choline, CAS 987-78-0) on learning and memory in rats with memory deficits were examined using behavioral methods of active avoidance with punishment reinforcement (shuttle-box), passive avoidance with punishment reinforcement (step-through and step-down), and active avoidance with positive (alimentary) reinforcement (staircase-maze). In the majority of experiments CDP-choline was applied orally at doses of 10-50 or 100 mg/kg daily for 7 days before the training session. The experiments were carried out on young-adult (aged 5 months) and old (aged 22 months) rats and on rats with a low capability for retention of learned behavior. Memory deficits were induced by the muscarinic cholinoceptor antagonist scopolamine (in young and old rats and mice), by the alpha 2-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine, by electroconvulsive shock, and by hypoxy. Memory deficits were also induced in rats offspring of dams that had been exposed to alcohol during pregnancy and lactation. The results suggest that CDP-choline acts as a memory-enhancing drug and that its effect is particularly pronounced in animals with memory deficits.