Effect of the memory-improving substance methylglucamine orotate on paradoxical sleep in rats

Abstract

The effects of methylglucamine orotate (MGO) were studied on polygraphic sleep recordings in rats for 8 h per day between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. MGO (225 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally immediately prior to the onset of recording. In the acute experiment, the effect of MGO was compared to pre- and post-drug control days. In the chronic experiment, a sequence of 5 control days, 10 days of MGO treatment, and a further 8 control days was tested. Both acute and chronic administration of MGO resulted in increased paradoxical sleep (PS) latency and a small, but significant, decrease in PS during the first 4 h after injection. This effect seems to be specific to PS, as no effects of MGO on waking or total sleep were found. With chronic administration, no PS rebound occurred within the 8-h recording time during the 8-day post-treatment control period. How the RNA precursor can decrease PS and whether this effect may play a role in the memory-improving action of the substance is discussed in terms of an interrelationship between macromolecular synthesis, sleep, and memory, respectively.