Effects of caffeine on learning and memory in rats tested in the Morris water maze.
Braz J Med Biol Res
; 35(10): 1201-8, 2002 Oct.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-12424493
ABSTRACT
We studied some of the characteristics of the improving effect of the non-specific adenosine receptor antagonist, caffeine, using an animal model of learning and memory. Groups of 12 adult male Wistar rats receiving caffeine (0.3-30 mg/kg, ip, in 0.1 ml/100 g body weight) administered 30 min before training, immediately after training, or 30 min before the test session were tested in the spatial version of the Morris water maze task. Post-training administration of caffeine improved memory retention at the doses of 0.3-10 mg/kg (the rats swam up to 600 cm less to find the platform in the test session, P<=0.05) but not at the dose of 30 mg/kg. Pre-test caffeine administration also caused a small increase in memory retrieval (the escape path of the rats was up to 500 cm shorter, P<=0.05). In contrast, pre-training caffeine administration did not alter the performance of the animals either in the training or in the test session. These data provide evidence that caffeine improves memory retention but not memory acquisition, explaining some discrepancies among reports in the literature.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Caffeine
/
Maze Learning
/
Central Nervous System Stimulants
/
Memory
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Braz J Med Biol Res
Year:
2002
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: