Apamin produces selective improvements of learning in rats

• Published in: Neuroscience letters 2005-09, Vol.386 (1), p.5-8
• Main Authors: Deschaux, O., Bizot, J.-C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Apamin; Apamin - pharmacology; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Behavior, Animal - physiology; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - drug effects; Brain - physiology; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Extinction, Psychological - drug effects; Extinction, Psychological - physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Learning; Learning - drug effects; Learning - physiology; Male; Maze Learning - drug effects; Maze Learning - physiology; Memory; Nootropic Agents - pharmacology; Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated - drug effects; Potassium Channels, Calcium-Activated - metabolism; Rat; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Small-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels; Space Perception - drug effects; Space Perception - physiology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
• ISSN: 0304-3940; 1872-7972
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2005.05.050

The effect of apamin on learning was examined using two behavioral tasks where the animals were subjected to two trials separated by a 24 h interval. In the Y maze task, apamin administered before the acquisition session did not enhance performance on both the acquisition session and the restitution session. In the second behavioral task, animals were trained to press a lever to obtain a food pellet (fixed ratio 1). Then, to study the effect of apamin on extinction, animals were submitted to two sessions where a press on the lever was not reinforced. Apamin administered before the acquisition session reduced the number of lever presses during the first 3-min period of the restitution session. These results suggest that the blockade of SK channels could improve the acquisition but not when the task requires the processing of spatial information.