There are mixed findings with respect to individual or gender differences in virtual Morris water maze tasks, which may be attributed to variations in the scale of the space, the cues provided, and differences in spatial navigation experience and abilities. We explore the question of scale and context by presenting participants with either a large (146 m) or small (36 m) outdoor virtual Morris ...

Although the cognitive and biological characteristics of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are well known and mouse models of AD are available, current treatments for AD-related cognitive deficits have quite limited efficacy. The development of tasks with cross-species validity may enable better prediction of the efficacy of potential new treatments. In this issue of the JCI, Possin et al. present a vir...

Prolonged treatment with stress levels of corticosterone has been reported to produce changes in the hippocampus. In the experiments reported here, we examined for functional and morphological consequences of this treatment. First, young adult or mid-aged male Long-Evans rats were treated for either 1 or 3 months with corticosterone, at a dose sufficient to mimic the elevated hormone levels obs...

background: sporadic alzheimer’s disease (sad) is caused by genetic risk factors, aging and oxidative stresses. the herbal extract of rosa canina (r. canina), tanacetum vulgare (t. vulgare) and urtica dioica (u. dioica) has a beneficial role in aging, as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agent. in this study, the neuroprotective effects of this herbal extract in the rat model of sad was i...

The present study was aimed to explore the effect of sodium nitrite on cytoskeletal protein phosphorylation and spatial learning and memory in rats. Rats were served with drinking water containing sodium nitrite (100 mg/kg) for 60 days, then, the ability of spatial learning and memory of the rats was measured by Morris water maze. Phosphorylation level of tau and neurofilament, and the expressi...

The aim of the study was to explore the effects of increased levels of blood sugar and cytokines on impaired cognitive function in the olanzapine-induced obesity rat model. A total of 40 rats were randomly divided into 2 groups; the control and olanzapine groups (N = 20 per group). The control rats were fed regular food, while the olanzapine rats received olanzapine-enriched (1.2 mg/kg) food by...

The phenomenal finding that listening to Mozart K.448 enhances performance on spatial tasks has motivated a continuous surge in promoting music education over the past two decades. But there have been inconsistent reports in previous studies of the Mozart effect. Here conducted was a systematic study, with Mozart and retrograde Mozart music, Mozart music rhythm and pitch, behaviours and neurobi...

Nitric oxide plays a role in a series of neurobiological functions, underlying behaviour and memory. The functional role of nNOS derived nitric oxide in cognitive functions is elusive. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of specific neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, 7-nitroindazole, against intracerebroventricular streptozotocin-induced cognitive impairment in rats....