Protective effects of melatonin against valproic acid-induced memory impairments and reductions in adult rat hippocampal neurogenesis

Abstract

Valproic acid (VPA) is widely used in the treatment of epilepsy. However, VPA has been revealed to impair memory of both humans and animals. The adverse effects of VPA are associated with reductions in hippocampal neurogenesis and memory. There are neuroprotective properties exerted by melatonin. Therefore, we investigated the protective effects of melatonin against the reductions of memory and neurogenesis caused by VPA. Male Sprague–Dawley rats received VPA (300 mg/kg) twice a day for 14 days, or melatonin (8 mg/kg/day) for 14 days, or co-treatment with VPA and melatonin for either 14 days (preventive and recovery groups) or 28 days (throughout group). Novel object location and novel object recognition tests were used to assess spatial memory and non-spatial memory, respectively. Proliferation, survival, and immature neurons in the subgranular zone (SGZ) were examined using immunohistochemistry. Rats showed decreases in proliferation, survival, and immature neurons in the SGZ, which were related to impairments in spatial and non-spatial memory. These behavioral changes were prevented by co-administration with melatonin. In addition, the decreasing of the hippocampal neurogenesis was improved to control levels, which had received co-administration with melatonin (preventive, recovery, and throughout). It is noteworthy that rats receiving melatonin alone showed a significant diversity of proliferation, survival and immature neurons compared to the control rats. These findings suggest that melatonin is able to prevent the spatial and non-spatial memory impairments and a reduction in hippocampal neurogenesis simultaneously induced by VPA. Our results provide a feasible way to prevent this loss using melatonin.