Nitrous oxide impairs selective stages of working memory in rats

Working memory impairment under narcosis has never been investigated. Furthermore, mechanisms by which narcosis disturbs working memory processes remain relatively unknown. The present work was aimed at answering to these two questions using a well-known normobaric narcotic gas, nitrous oxide (N 2O)...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience letters 2004-06, Vol.364 (1), p.22-26
Main Authors: Rabat, Arnaud, Hardouin, Jeannine, Courtière, Alain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analgesics, Non-Narcotic - pharmacology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
Exploratory Behavior - drug effects
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Inert gas narcosis
Male
Memory Disorders - chemically induced
Memory Disorders - physiopathology
Memory, Short-Term - drug effects
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Nitrous oxide
Nitrous Oxide - pharmacology
Object recognition task
Rat
Rats
Rats, Long-Evans
Retention (Psychology) - drug effects
Time Factors
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
Working memory
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Summary:Working memory impairment under narcosis has never been investigated. Furthermore, mechanisms by which narcosis disturbs working memory processes remain relatively unknown. The present work was aimed at answering to these two questions using a well-known normobaric narcotic gas, nitrous oxide (N 2O), and a classical working memory task (a two-trial recognition memory task). Ten Long–Evans rats were tested in this behavioral task under nitrous oxide exposure. The results showed (i) a dose-related impairment of working memory, (ii) a selective effect of N 2O on two out of three mnemonic processes: acquisition, and retention, and (iii) a compensatory effect of increasing the acquisition phase duration on these impairments. These results, as previously suggested for long-term memory, agree with the fact that nitrous oxide disrupts in a dose-related manner working memory by notably slowing down acquisition processes.
ISSN:0304-3940
1872-7972
DOI:10.1016/j.neulet.2004.03.083