Scopolamine-Induced Rodent Amnesia Model

Scopolamine, a well-known anticholinergic drug, is frequently used as a standard drug for cognitive deficits for experimental purpose. Scopolamine-treated animals exhibit memory dysfunctions analogous to those observed in demented patients. This model has been regarded as a suitable animal model to test for drugs with potential therapeutic benefits in dementia, learning and memory impairment. Creative Biolabs conducts contract studies in established scopolamine-induced amnesia rodent models to facilitate research and the development of compounds for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) as well as other diseases with negative impacts on memory and cognitive functions.

Introduction of Scopolamine-Induced Amnesia Model

Neurodegenerative disorders such as AD and PD are clinically characterized by a progressive loss of cognitive abilities, which affects learning and memory dysfunction in daily activity. Memory impairment is attributed to dysfunction of the cholinergic system, which involves cholinergic neurons, neurotransmitters, and their receptors. Critically, memory loss is due to a reduction of acetylcholine (ACh) production, which leads to a decrease of ACh available at the neuronal synapse. Muscarinic acetylcholinergic receptor antagonists are known to impair learning ability and memory function, and this impairment can be observed with the nonselective antagonist, scopolamine. Scopolamine can, therefore, be effective for use in animal models of amnesia, and it also inhibits central cholinergic neuronal activity.

Features of Scopolamine-Induced Amnesia Model

• Scopolamine can be either infused in the amygdala or given by intraperitoneal route to impair learning and memory.
• Scopolamine-induced memory impairment is one of the most widely used models because complex surgical procedures are not required.
• Scopolamine-induced memory impairment, particularly when coupled with a version of the inhibitory avoidance task provides a relatively rapid phenotypic screening tool for drug discovery in the field of cognition enhancement.

Fig.1 Anti-amnesic effects of ODH in mice with scopolamine-induced amnesia. N: normal group, C: control group, P: tacrine treated positive control groups, U: ursolic acid-treated groups, O100: ODH 100 mg/kg treated group, and O200: ODH 200 mg/kg treated group. (Lee et al. 2018)

Assessments

Creative Biolabs conducts a number of behavioral tests for evaluating the cognitive impairment and memory functions of animal subjects. Following the behavioral tests, animals are sacrificed under anesthesia. Blood is collected for biochemical analysis, western blot, and real-time PCR analysis. Brain tissues are isolated for fixation and subsequent histological and immunohistochemical staining. Parameters that can be measured include, but are not limited to:

• Behavioral tests (e.g., motor function, cognition, and social behavior)
• Biochemical analysis
• Western blot
• Real-time PCR
• Histological & immunohistochemical analysis

Creative Biolabs can offer other Rodent Alzheimer's disease models that you may be interested:

• Streptozotocin (STZ)-Induced Rodent Alzheimer's Disease Model
• Amyloid Beta-Induced Rodent Alzheimer's Disease Model

Creative Biolabs has the scientific and technical expertise to handle various pre-clinical drug discovery needs in different neurological disease models. The comprehensive list of models is listed as follows:

Our value lies both in the expertise and in providing services at a better price and higher quality than the competition. Moreover, one point that distinguishes us from the traditional CROs is that our services are responsive to the clients, meaning that we provide customized solutions and flexibility. Contact us for more information if you are interested in our services.

Reference

1. Lee, J. E.; et al. Ethanol extract of oldenlandia diffusa herba attenuates scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments in mice via activation of BDNF, P-CREB and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase[J]. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018, 19(2).

For Research Use Only.