The effect of somatostatin, its fragments and an analog on electroconvulsive shock-induced amnesia in rats

Abstract

In the present study the effects of intracerebroventricularly /icv/ administered somatostatin /linear and cyclic/, soma ostatin3–6, somatostatin7–10 and des AA1,2,4,5,12,13 /D-Trp 8/ somatostatin /ODT8-SS/ were investigated on electroconvulsive shock /ECS/-induced retrograde amnesia in rats. The ECS significantly decreased the foot shock-induced avoidance latency, and thus caused retrograde amnesia. Somatostatin /linear and cyclic/ in a dose of 0.6 nM had no action on the ECS-induced retrograde amnesia, while in doses of 3 nM and /cyclic only/ 6 nM it significantly prevented it. Somatostatin3–6, somatostatin7–10 and ODT8-SS in doses of 0.6, 3 and 6 nM had no effect on the ECS-induced amnesia. These results indicate that the whole sequence of the original somatostatin molecule is needed to block the ECS-caused retrograde amnesia.