The interactions between the cholinergic and catecholaminergic systems - focusing on memory and oxidative stress
A. Ciobica1,2,3, R. Lefter2, B. Stoica4
- Department of Research, Faculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iasi, Romania;
- Romanian Academy, Iasi, Romania;
- The Academy of the Romanian Scientists, Romania;
- “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz63.02.025
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Abstract
We analyzed the effect of various cholinergic and catecholaminergic agonists on working and reference memory in rats, as well as their relevance in the basal antioxidant and lipid peroxidation markers modifications. Adult male Wistar rats were used. They were injected with pilocarpine (cholinergic muscarinic agonist, 8 mg/kg bw,i.p.), clonidine (α2 noradrenergic agonist, 0.5 mg/kg bw,i.p.) and pergolide (general dopaminergic agonist, 0.3 mg/kg bw,i.p.). The rats were divided into 5 groups, as follows: pilocarpine+clonidine, pilocarpine+pergolide, clonidine+pergolide and pilocarpine+clonidine+pergolide, plus a control group. Behavioral testing was done through radial arm maze, while the biochemistry included the assessing of some enzymes of antioxidant defense such as superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, as well as malondialdehyde, lipid oxidation maker, in the frontal lobes. The administration of the agonists revealed a positive effect on the working and reference memory manifested through the significant decreasing in the number of errors in the radial-arms-maze-task. Moreover, combined administration of all three agonists resulted in a synergistic stimulation of spatial memory. The levels of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities were increased in rats treated with cholinergic and catecholaminergic
agonists, while the malondialdehyde levels were decreased. These findings further support a role of
interaction between catecholamines and acetylcholine in the modulation of memory processes and basal
oxidative stress markers, thus having an increased relevance for the studies regarding the cognitive decline and some neuropsychiatric disorders.
Keywords:
cholinergic agonist; catecholaminergic agonist; memory; oxidative stress markers; rat
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