Attenuation by a novel synthetic analogue of ACTH4-7 of the learning and memory deficits in juvenile rats treated with amphetamine in utero: role of nitric oxide

Background Drug abuse among pregnant women continues at alarming frequency. Exposed children often show selective impairments of attention and other disturbances which might develop to major cognitive disorders. This work seeks to examine the impact of prenatal stress (PS) induced by the psychostimulant drug amphetamine (AMPH) on memory functions in male offspring of rats and to study the possible neuroprotective action of the novel Russian peptide Semax (a synthetic analogue of ACTH4-7). In addition, the role of the neuronal messenger nitric oxide (NO) as well as the intensity of lipid peroxidation (LPO) in mechanisms of PS was examined.