The cellular and molecular processes associated with scopolamine-induced memory deficit: A model of Alzheimer's biomarkers

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is neurodegenerative disorder that is associated with memory and cognitive decline in the older adults. Scopolamine is commonly used as a behavioral model in studying cognitive disorders including AD. Many studies have also concurrently examined the neurochemical mechanisms underlying the behavioral modifications by scopolamine treatment. Nonetheless, the scopolamine model has not become a standard tool in the early assessment of drugs. Furthermore, the use of scopolamine as a pharmacological model to study AD remains debatable. This report reviews the scopolamine-induced cellular and molecular changes and discusses how these changes relate to AD pathogenesis.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Amyloid beta-peptides; Apoptosis; Dementia; Inflammation; Oxidative stress; Scopolamine; Tau proteins.