Improvement of episodic contextual memory by S 18986 in middle-aged mice: comparison with donepezil.

Introduction: This study compared the effects of S 18986, a positive allosteric modulator of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)-type glutamate receptors, to those of donepezil a cholinesterase inhibitor on memory impairments induced by ageing in a contextual serial discrimination (CSD) task in middle-aged mice.

Materials And Methods: The CSD task involved the learning of two consecutive discriminations in a four-hole board, each performed on two different floors. This model has been developed to study simultaneously different forms of memory in mice (i.