The impairment on retention performance caused by repeated administration of gabapentin may not be explained by an anxiolytic effect on memory retrieval

BLAKE MG, BOCCIA MM, ACOSTA GB Y BARATTI CM

Córdoba, 1-3 de Noviembre de 2006.

Congreso; XXXVIII Reunión Científica Anual de la Asociación Argentina de Farmacología Experimental (SAFE).; 2006

SAFE

After more than a decade of clinical use, gabapentin (GBP) has been shown effective anticonvulsant, antineuropathic and anxiolytic effects, among others, but its mechanism of action remains unclear. Unless GBP was originally developed as a GABA analogue, it has not significant interactions with GABA receptors. The actions of GBP on learning and memory in rodents are practically unknown. Our laboratory demonstrated that post-training acute administration of GBP (50 mg/kg ip) enhanced memory consolidation of an inhibitory avoidance response in mice, whereas the repeated administration (50 mg/kg, ip, two daily doses, 12 h apart) impairs retention performance in the same task, and that both effects are correlated with changes on the activity of central cholinergic system. We report here that the repeated administration of GBP may also increase gabaergic activity, but that the impairment observed on retention performance of an inhibitory avoidance task may not be explained by an anxiolytic effect of the drug during memory retrieval