Behavioral effects passive avoidance performance

An oral administration of crocin had no effect on memory acquisition in normal mice but improved the ethanol-induced impairment of learning behaviors of mice in passive avoidance performance tasks. This phenomenon resembled that of crude extract of saffron as reported previously. The tendencies of the effect between CSE and crocin are similar to each other. From these results it can be easily speculated that crocin is the most important principle in crude extract of saffron. Other crocetin glucoside esters weakly antagonized the blocking effect of ethanol on the LTP compared to crocin. 

Teratological effects on passive avoidance behavior have been tested in a number of studies. It is often assumed that passive avoidance performance during the test session reflects memory capacity of the animal tested. However, such performance can also be considered a test of fear or arousal (ref. 138). 

Other intermediate-duration oral studies in rats evaluated effects of aluminum on brain chemistry as well as neurobehavioral performance. Rats that consumed 51 mg Al/kg/day as aluminum chloride in drinking water for 180 days had alterations in behavior (reduced spontaneous locomotor activity, impaired learning, extinction and relearning of an active avoidance task, impaired maze relearning ability) and brain chemistry (increased lipid peroxidation, decreased activity of Na+-, K+-, and Mg2+-ATPases) (Lai et al. 1993). Ingestion of 490 mg Al/kg/day as aluminum sulfate in drinking water for 4-12 weeks caused reduced retention of a learned passive avoidance task and changes in brain chemistry (e.g., increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate levels, decreased concentrations of MAP-2 and other structural... 

In contrast to the one-trial passive avoidance procedure, the Morris maze permits the progress of learning to be evaluated within the test. Furthermore, subsequent learning can be compared with initial swimming performance. Both factors allow a clearer interpretation of drug effects. The Morris maze depends on the animal s use of extra-maze visual cues. The behavior can therefore be more readily interpreted in terms of the animal s capacity to learn to orient itself in space (spatial learning) and the effects thereon of the test substance. 

Since the major use of bioscavengers is prophylactic, it was essential to demonstrate that Hu BChE is devoid of undesirable effects. Thus, several studies evaluated behavioral and physiological effects of equine (Eq) BChE administered alone as well as prior to nerve agent exposure (Broomfield et al., 1991 Genovese and Doctor, 1995 Matzke et al., 1999). Administration of Eq BChE to rats (resulting in circulating BChE levels as high as -55 U/mL) did not affect acquisition or retention of a passive avoidance task or disrupt performance of a food-maintained... 

It has been shown that administration of theanine has a significant effect on the release or reduction of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. It is also known that these neurotransmitters are closely related to memory and learning ability. Theanine does not change activity level or exploration behavior in normal animals. However, it does improve performance on a number of tests of memory and learning, including the active avoidance test and passive avoidance test. ... 

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