The effect of sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine on memmory deficiencies induced by depression

Background and Aim : Depression is a major psychiatric disorder that is associated with high rates of suicide and is considered one of the most important causes of human disability. Depression is considered a neuropsychiatric condition which is associated with neuronal injury within specific brain regions. depression is usually accompanied by cognitive impairments in the domains such as memory, cognitive flexibility, attention and executive functioning. Ketamine, as an NMDA receptor antagonist, is a rapid antidepressant. The discovery of the antidepressant effect of ketamine is a very important development in the field of antidepressant drugs.Methods : The aim of this study was to evaluate whether ketamine can improve the negative effects of depression on memory. For this purpose, 30 male rats were used. Animals were randomly divided into three equal groups, and except the control group, the other ones were depressed by CUMS method. Then, ketamine group was treated with the sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine. Finally, behavioral parameters were measured.Results : It was found out that treatment with the sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine could markedly increase the step through latency (STL) time as an index of recall in comparison to depressed rats. Also, alternation behavior as spatial memory index was insignificantly decreased in control animals Compared with depressed group and this behavioral parameter was insignificantly increased in group of ketamine relative to depressed group. Therefore, treatment with sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine could antagonize memory deficits of depression induced by CUMS in rats.Conclusion : Perhaps, this plant could be a potential factor in the treatment of memory deficiencies induced by depression.

کلیدواژه ها:

depression ، ketamine ، ECT