Apparent vs real effects of scopolamine on the learning of an active avoidance task

The effects of scopolamine hydrobromide (0.5 and 2 mg/ kg) administered intraperitoneally to Balb/c male mice before or after training in active avoidance were explored in four training sessions and in a subsequent test session, free of drug. Animals given scopolamine prior to training performed better than controls, an effect that was reversed in the session free of drug. However, a deeper analysis of the data permits us to interpret this increment in the number of avoidance responses as a consequence of the increase in activity produced by the drug and not as learning. In the animals injected with scopolamine after sessions no effects were observed. In conclusion, the results of the present experiment confirm that scopolamine produces an impairment in the acquisition of an active avoidance task, but also show that this impairment can be easily masked by the facilitating effects of the drug on activity.