Previous studies reported that some plants, including butternut squash, exert positive effects on the brain. However, few studies have examined the effects of butternut squash on learning, memory, and neurogenesis. Th...Previous studies reported that some plants, including butternut squash, exert positive effects on the brain. However, few studies have examined the effects of butternut squash on learning, memory, and neurogenesis. This study studied the effects of butternut squash extract on spatial learning and cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of healthy male rats. Thirty-five male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg butternut squash extract once daily for 2 months. After the last administration, rat＇s spatial memory was studied using the Morris water maze. Finally, rats were sacrificed and hippocampal sections were prepared for light microscopy and bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemistry studies. The results revealed that escape latency and swim distance decreased in all treatment groups compared with the control rats, and that the number of bromodeoxyuridine-positive cells in the dentate gyrus was significantly increased in the treatment groups compared with the controls. These findings suggest that butternut squash extract improves the learning and memory abilities of male rats, and increases the proliferation of dentate gyrus cells.展开更多
3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine （MDMA; also known as ＇ecstasy＇） has been shown to impair learning and spatial memory in adult and neonatal rats. Many studies have focused on the acute effects of MDMA on memory....3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine （MDMA; also known as ＇ecstasy＇） has been shown to impair learning and spatial memory in adult and neonatal rats. Many studies have focused on the acute effects of MDMA on memory. In the present study, we intraperitoneally administered MDMA （0, 5, 10, 20 mg/kg） to adult male rats to investigate the effects of different doses on rat spatial memory in the Morris water maze, body temperature, and mortality, twice a day, for 7 successive days. The results indicated that MDMA impaired spatial memory dose-dependently, with the highest dose （20 mg/kg） exerting the strongest effects. In addition, MDMA also caused hyperthermia and increased mortality in rats展开更多
基金a grant from the Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine (RICM),Tehran University of Medical Sciences,No. p26/m/t/1088
文摘Previous studies reported that some plants, including butternut squash, exert positive effects on the brain. However, few studies have examined the effects of butternut squash on learning, memory, and neurogenesis. This study studied the effects of butternut squash extract on spatial learning and cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus of healthy male rats. Thirty-five male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with 0, 50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg butternut squash extract once daily for 2 months. After the last administration, rat＇s spatial memory was studied using the Morris water maze. Finally, rats were sacrificed and hippocampal sections were prepared for light microscopy and bromodeoxyuridine immunohistochemistry studies. The results revealed that escape latency and swim distance decreased in all treatment groups compared with the control rats, and that the number of bromodeoxyuridine-positive cells in the dentate gyrus was significantly increased in the treatment groups compared with the controls. These findings suggest that butternut squash extract improves the learning and memory abilities of male rats, and increases the proliferation of dentate gyrus cells.
基金a grant from the Substance Abuse and Dependence Research Center University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, No. 313-126417Tehran University of Medical Sciences, No. P/664
文摘3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine （MDMA; also known as ＇ecstasy＇） has been shown to impair learning and spatial memory in adult and neonatal rats. Many studies have focused on the acute effects of MDMA on memory. In the present study, we intraperitoneally administered MDMA （0, 5, 10, 20 mg/kg） to adult male rats to investigate the effects of different doses on rat spatial memory in the Morris water maze, body temperature, and mortality, twice a day, for 7 successive days. The results indicated that MDMA impaired spatial memory dose-dependently, with the highest dose （20 mg/kg） exerting the strongest effects. In addition, MDMA also caused hyperthermia and increased mortality in rats
