Expression analysis of synaptic plasticity genes in curcumin-treated amnesic mice model

Abstract

Memories are formed and consolidated through an interplay of different synaptic plasticity genes. Amnesia is the state of memory loss, which can be due to several physiological and psychological causes. In this study, we were interested in checking the curcumin (Curcuma longa) effects on memory to treat chemically induced amnesia in the mice model. We analyzed the expression of synaptic plasticity genes (Arc, Zif268, Fmr1, and c-Fos) to see the effect of curcumin at the molecular level in the amnesic mice model. The 24 Swiss Albino male mice were randomly divided into four groups. The first group was a control; we induced amnesia in the other three groups by injecting Scopolamine hydrobromide (3 mg/kg). The administration of curcumin (50 mg/kg) was done pre-and post-treatment in the last two groups. We compared the expression of synaptic plasticity genes among different groups after Real-time PCR. We observed a significant change in the expression of synaptic plasticity genes (Arc and Fmr1) after curcumin treatment in scopolamine-induced amnesic mice. The significance of this study is that if the curcumin affects these synaptic plasticity genes to attenuate amnesia, it can be further developed for the therapeutic potential to prevent/cure neurodegenerative disorders related to amnesia.