Antioxidants Prevent Memory Deficits Provoked by Chronic Variable Stress in Rats

Abstract

Learning and memory deficits occur in depression and other stress related disorders. Although the pathogenesis of cognitive impairment after stress has not been fully elucidated, factors such as oxidative stress and neurotrophins are thought to play possible roles. Here we investigated the effect of treatment with vitamin E (40 mg/kg) and vitamin C (100 mg/kg) on the effects elicited by chronic variable stress on rat performance in Morris water maze. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) immunocontent was also evaluated in hippocampus of rats. Sixty-day old Wistar rats were submitted to different stressors for 40 days (stressed group). Half of stressed group received administration of vitamins once a day, during the period of stress. Chronically stressed rats presented a marked decrease in reference memory in the water maze task as well as a reduced efficiency to find the platform in the working memory task. Rats treated with vitamins E and C had part of the above effects prevented, suggesting the participation of oxidative stress in such effects. The BDNF levels were not altered in hippocampus of stressed group when compared to controls. Our findings lend support to a novel therapeutic strategy, associated with these vitamins, to the cognitive dysfunction observed in depression and other stress related diseases.

A Comparison of Resveratrol and Vitamin C Therapy on Expression of BDNF in Stressed Rat Brain Homogenate

“…V. DISSCUSSION The present study clearly demonstrates that immobilization stress in rats resulted in a decline in BDNF level in whole brain homogenate. This result is consistent with few of the earlier studies [25][26][27], however a study by Tagliari et al, [28] claim that various chronic stress models used in rats has not affected BDNF expression in the hippocampus. Although the exact mechanism by which prolonged stressful experiences regulating BDNF is still unknown, the involvement of hormonal and neurotransmitter systems, has to be taken into consideration [29,30].…”

“…These results do not prove the neuroprotective effect of vitamin C in enhancing the BDNF expression. Taligiri et al, evaluated the neuroprotective effects of vitamin C and E against stress induced cognitive deficits [28]. The results of their study claim partial restoration of cognitive dysfunction after vitamin C as well as vitamin E therapy suggesting the role of oxidative damage.…”

High Fat Diet- Induced Neurotoxicity Alters Following vitamin E and C Administration in Hippocampus of Male Rats

“…Furthermore, the results showed that the antioxidant could exaggerate HFD-induced increase in BDNF, Trk β, CREB, and synapsin I. It has been reported that vitamin C and E could exert protective effects by enhancing BDNF expression in stressed rats (26). A study by Coskun et al showed that vitamin C supplementation failed to protect the brain tissue against exercise-induced oxidative damage and behavior as a pro-oxidant (27).…”

Exploring the effect of vitamin C on sleep deprivation induced memory impairment

“…It was shown to reduce learning and memory impairment associated with Alzheimer's diseases (Harrison et al, 2009), chronic stress (Heo et al, 2013;Kumar et al, 2009;Tagliari et al, 2011), diabetes (Bhutada et al, 2011;Hasanein and Shahidi, 2010), exposure to fluoride (Raghu et al, 2013), and melamine (An and Zhang, 2014), and the aging process (Fotuhi et al, 2008;Kennard and Harrison, 2014;Yang et al, 2010). In the current study, the possible preventive effect of VitC on impairment of memory induced by chronic sleep deprivation was examined.…”