Abstract

Although the actions of tacrolimus-calcineurin inhibitor on cognitive function have been studied; its impact on scopolamine-induced memory impairment has not been explored. Therefore, this study examined the effects of one-week tacrolimus treatment on memory deficit caused by scopolamine, which is an established pharmacological model of Alzheimer's disease induction. The evaluation of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory deficits was carried out in two phases, namely, behavioral performance using the elevated plus maze model, and measurement of oxidative stress markers in brain samples. Findings showed that administration of tacrolimus prevented the decline of hippocampus-dependent long-term memory. In correlation, tacrolimus pre-treatment prevented scopolamine associated increase in the activity thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and decrease of the reduced glutathione. The results suggest that sub-chronic use of calcineurin inhibitor averts impairment of learning and memory through restoring the oxidative stress markers levels.

Key words: Calcineurin inhibitor, impairment, learning, memory.