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. 2011 Jan;2(1):3-6.
doi: 10.4103/0976-500X.77079.

Evaluation of nootropic and neuroprotective effects of low dose aspirin in rats

Arijit Ghosh  1 , V R Dhumal, A V Tilak, Nina Das, Amarinder Singh, Abhijit A Bondekar
Affiliations

Evaluation of nootropic and neuroprotective effects of low dose aspirin in rats

Arijit Ghosh et al. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the nootropic and neuroprotective effects of aspirin in Sprague Dawley rats.

Materials and methods: Retention of conditioned avoidance response (CAR) and central 5-HT-mediated behavior (lithium-induced head twitches) were assessed using repeated electroconvulsive shock (ECS) in rats. Rats were divided into eight groups: control (pretreated with distilled water), scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg i.p.), ECS (150 V, 50 Hz sinusoidal with intensity of 210 mA for 0.5 s) pretreated, aspirin (6.75 mg/kg orally) pretreated, combined scopolamine and aspirin pretreated, ondansetron (0.36 mg/kg orally) pretreated, combined ECS and ondansetron pretreated and combined ECS and aspirin pretreated groups. Data was analyzed by the chi-square test and ANOVA.

Results: Findings show that administration of single ECS daily for consecutive 8 days results in enhancement of 5-HT-mediated behavior (lithium-induced head twitches) and in disruption of the retention of CAR. Aspirin and ondansetron administration significantly increased the retention of conditioned avoidance response compared to control. Ondansetron and aspirin significantly prevented ECS-induced attenuation of the retention of conditioned avoidance response also. On the other hand, ondansetron and aspirin significantly retarded the ECS-induced enhancement of 5-HT-mediated behavior.

Conclusion: Inhibition of the serotonergic transmission by aspirin is responsible for its nootropic and neuroprotective actions.

Keywords: Aspirin; conditioned avoidance response; lithium induced head twitches; serotonergic transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of rats showing retention of conditioned avoidance response. Gr II, III, IV, VI Vs Gr I (P<0.001)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of lithium-induced head twitches during 31-40 min interval. Gr VII, VIII Vs Gr III (P<0.001)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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