Vitamin A deficiency produces spatial learning and memory impairment in rats.

Vitamin A and its derivatives (retinoids) play important roles in many physiological processes. The recent finding of high levels of cellular retinol-binding protein type 1 immunoreactivity, cellular retinoic acid-binding protein type 1 immunoreactivity and the presence of nuclear retinoid receptors in the central nervous system of adult rodents suggests that retinoids may carry out important roles in the adult brain. In consideration of the role of the hippocampus in spatial learning and memory we evaluated the effect of vitamin A deprivation in adult rats on these functions.

Serotonin and acetylcholine release response in the rat hippocampus during a spatial memory task.

By using in vivo microdialysis we monitored the extracellular levels of acetylcholine and serotonin in the hippocampus of rats performing a spatial memory task. After rats were trained for 10 consecutive days to master a food-reinforced radial-arm maze task, they were implanted with a microdialysis probe in the dorsal hippocampus. On day 12, rats were tested in the maze and acetylcholine and serotonin outputs were monitored before the test, during the waiting phase and while performing the trials.

The decrease of serotonin release induced by a tryptophan-free amino acid diet does not affect spatial and passive avoidance learning.

We assessed whether consumption of a diet lacking in tryptophan (TRP) resulted in alteration in learning and memory performance and hippocampal 5-HT release in rats. Two hours after the acute administration of TRP-free (T) and balanced (B) diet rats were trained in a one-trial passive avoidance task. The two groups of rats showed no significant difference in retention latencies.

Acute administration of a tryptophan-free amino acid mixture decreases 5-HT release in rat hippocampus in vivo.

The effect of oral administration of a tryptophan-free amino acid mixture or the same mixture containing tryptophan (Trp) on hippocampal serotonin (5-HT) extracellular levels was studied using in vivo brain microdialysis of freely moving rats. During chloral hydrate anesthesia rats were implanted with dialysis probes in the dorsal hippocampus, and experiments were performed 24 h later. In vehicle-treated rats, the extracellular levels of 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (5-HIAA) and 5-HT did not change during 240 min after ingestion.