Differently Directed Influences of Semax on the Formation and Functional Impairments of an Active Avoidance Reaction in Rats

Abstract

The effects of Semax on the formation of a conditioned active avoidance reaction were studied in rats using different experimental models. I.p. administration of Semax at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg was found to accelerate the acquisition of a one-way conditioned avoidance reaction in a model of an active pain stimulus avoidance reflex in which the animals had to jump onto a shelf. In animals trained in a shuttle box, the peptide increased the threshold current required to provoked movement of the rats across the chamber and slowed acquisition of a two-way active avoidance reaction. Semax stimulated reproduction of the avoidance reaction in the shuttle box in rats after functional impairment induced by acute changes in cause-effect and spatial relationships in the experimental environment. These data support the view that this peptide has nootropic properties.