Attenuation of cycloheximide-induced amnesia in mice with strychnine sulfate.

Conducted 2 experiments to determine the effectiveness of strychnine sulfate in attenuating the amnesia induced in mice by small doses of cycloheximide (CYC). Previously, reversal of CYC-induced amnesia by catecholamine agonists has been taken as evidence that protein synthesis inhibitors induce amnesia via an inhibition of catecholamine synthesis. In Exp I, 220 male C57/BL 6J mice (aged 8–20 wks) were taught passive avoidance and received injections of saline, strychnine sulfate, or dextroamphetamine sulfate posttraining. Exp II was conducted with 18 Ss and a larger dose of CYC. Results of Exp I show that strychnine sulfate attenuated an amnesia induced by 30 mg/kg CYC, and the results of Exp II show that even the robust amnesia induced by 75 mg/kg CYC could be attenuated by strychnine sulfate. Results concur with previous experiments that show that agents having little or no effect on the catecholamines can nonetheless attenuate amnesia induced by the protein synthesis inhibitors. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)