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Effect of an Inhibitor of Sphingomyelinases, N-Acetylcysteine, on Cognitive Functions in Old Rats

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Neurophysiology Aims and scope

We examined conditioned reflex activity (an active avoidance reflex in a shuttle chamber) in 24-monthold rats against the background of the action of N-acetylcysteine (N-AcC) introduced perorally during 18 days. N-AcC improved the cognitive functions in old animals; rats better evaluated the experimental task, and the latencies of the reaction to unconditioned stimulation were shorter. This, in general, promoted training for the reflex as compared with that in control rats. Considering that N-AcC inhibits the activity of neutral sphingomyelinase (SMase) and normalizes the content of ceramides in the hippocampus and neocortex of 24-month-old animals, it can be supposed that suppression of hyperproduction of ceramides in the brain of rats is an important factor providing improvement of the cognitive functions in old rats; this effect is realized due to inhibition of activity of neutral SMase.

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  1. Research Institute of Biology, Karazin Kharkiv National University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

    N. A. Babenko & O. G. Shakhova

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  1. N. A. Babenko
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  2. O. G. Shakhova
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Correspondence to N. A. Babenko.

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Babenko, N.A., Shakhova, O.G. Effect of an Inhibitor of Sphingomyelinases, N-Acetylcysteine, on Cognitive Functions in Old Rats. Neurophysiology 46, 180–182 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-014-9426-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-014-9426-5

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