The effects of scopolamine and methylscopolamine on visual and auditory discriminations in male and female Wistar rats

Abstract

The present experiment was designed to investigate whether or not the administration of scopolamine hydrobromide would differentially disrupt auditory or visual discrimination performance in male and female Wistar rats. Two groups of male and female Wistar rats were trained to discriminate between a continuous and intermittent visual stimulus, while two other groups were trained to discrinate between a continuous or intermittent auditory stimulus in a discrete-trial discrimination procedure. Once discrimination performance had stabilized, subjects were treated with different doses (0.125, 0.25, 0.50 or 1.0) of scopolamine hydrobromide or scopolamine methylbromide. Treatment effects were assessed with respect to discrimination performance, as well as with respect to the number of trials which were not completed. Scopolamine hydrobromide, but not scopolamine methylbromide, disrupted visual and auditory discrimination performance. The auditory discrimination was more seriously disrupted. However, both the administration of scopolamine hydrobromide and of scopolamine methylbromide increased the number of trials which were not completed suggesting that the accuracy of visual and auditory discriminations after drug treatment may have been influenced by other variables than drug effects on memory processes. Sex differences were not observed, neither with respect to discrimination performance, nor with respect to the number of trials which were not completed.