EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTS OF ATORVASTATIN ON LEARNING AND MEMORY IN WISTAR RATS

Rahul P Nambiar, Mukta N. Chowta*, Nishith RS, Priyanka Kamath, Sanjay Hadigal

This study was conducted with the objective of evaluating the effect of atorvastatin on scopolamine-induced amnesia in animal models. Male Wistar rats of 6 weeks old randomly assigned to four groups of six mice each. Group I received 0.5%w/v CMC, 10 ml/kg, group II received donepezil 5mg/kg, group III is negative control group and group IV received atorvastatin 10mg/kg dose administered orally for 8 days, commencing on day 6. On day 13, amnesia was induced by administration of scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg i.p.) to groups II-IV. On the first day, all the rats were familiarized with the Hebb William maze for a period of ten minutes. From the 2nd to 5th day the rats received four consecutive trials of training per day in the maze. After 45 minutes of administration of amnestic agent, trials of learning and memory were taken on Hebb-William’s maze and the retention was observed 24 hours after. The learning score decreased significantly in donepezil and atorvastatin treated group when compared to baseline values. There was a significant difference in learning score of both donepezil and atorvastatin treated groups in comparison with scopolamine treated group, suggesting their significant effect on learning and memory in rodent models.