Effect of DSP-4 induced central noradrenergic depletion on tactile learning in rat.

Soodeh Rajabi, Ali Shamsizadeh, Hossein Amini, Mohsen Shirazi, Mohammad Allahtavakoli, Mehdi Abbasnejad, Vahid Sheibani

Index: Neurol. Res. 34(1) , 80-4, (2012)

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Abstract

There is general agreement that norepinephrine could modulate neuronal responses to non-monoaminergic synaptic inputs in the somatosensory cortex. In the present study, we investigated the effect of central norepinephrine depletion on tactile learning in rats.Central norepinephrine depletion was induced using 50 mg/kg of N-(2-chloroethyl)-N-ethyl-2 bromobenzylamine (DSP-4) and verified by high performance liquid chromatography. Memory performance was assessed 1 and 5 weeks after DSP-4 treatment using novel object recognition test.We observed a learning impairment in both DSP-4 groups, as the preference index was not significantly altered when compared to chance level (50%).These findings suggest that depletion of central norepinephrine by DSP-4 leads to impairment of the tactile learning in rats, which can last at least for 35 days.