Oxotremorine attenuates retrograde amnesia induced by post-training administration of the GABAergic agonists muscimol and baclofen

Behav Neural Biol. 1991 Jul;56(1):25-31. doi: 10.1016/0163-1047(91)90255-o.

Abstract

These experiments examined the involvement of cholinergic influences in the effects of GABAergic drugs on 24-h retention of an inhibitory avoidance response by mice. A first set of experiments confirmed previous findings indicating that post-training injections (ip) of the GABAergic agonists muscimol (1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg) and baclofen (10.0 and 20.0 mg/kg) impaired retention, as well as previous findings indicating that injections of the cholinergic agonist oxotremorine (5.0 and 10.0 micrograms/kg) enhanced retention. The findings of a second set of experiments indicated that the memory-impairing effects of muscimol and baclofen were attenuated by concurrent injections of a low, and otherwise ineffective, dose of oxotremorine (2.5 micrograms/kg). These findings are interpreted as suggesting that GABAergic drugs affect memory storage through influences on cholinergic systems.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Avoidance Learning / drug effects
  • Baclofen / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Baclofen / pharmacology*
  • Brain / drug effects*
  • Conditioning, Classical / drug effects
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Male
  • Mental Recall / drug effects*
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred Strains
  • Muscimol / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Muscimol / pharmacology*
  • Oxotremorine / pharmacology*
  • Reaction Time / drug effects
  • Receptors, Cholinergic / drug effects
  • Receptors, GABA-A / drug effects*
  • Retention, Psychology / drug effects*

Substances

  • Receptors, Cholinergic
  • Receptors, GABA-A
  • Muscimol
  • Oxotremorine
  • Baclofen