Intraseptal infusion of the cholinergic agonist carbachol impairs delayed‐non‐match‐to‐sample radial arm maze performance in the rat

The medial septal nucleus regulates the physiology and emergent functions (e.g., memory formation) of the hippocampal formation. This nucleus is particularly rich in cholinergic receptors and is a putative target for the development of cholinomimetic cognitive enhancing drugs. A large number of studies have demonstrated that direct intraseptal drug infusions can produce amnestic or promnestic effects. While a few studies have examined the effects of direct intraseptal infusion of cholinomimetics on spatial memory performance (with drug “on‐board” at the time of testing), the effects of post‐acquisition infusions have not been assessed. We hypothesized that post‐acquisition intraseptal infusion of cholinomimetics, by promoting hippocampal theta and suppressing the occurrence of hippocampal sharp waves, may disrupt the long‐term retention and consolidation of memory. The present study examined the effects of intraseptal infusion of the cholinergic agonist carbachol in a delayed‐non‐match‐to‐sample radial maze task. Treatments were administered immediately following (within 1 min) the sample session with a retention session 2 h later. Carbachol infusions (12.5–125 ng in 0.5 μl) produced a linear dose‐dependent decrease in correct entries and increase in retroactive errors, without any change in proactive errors or latency‐per‐choice. These findings suggest that post‐acquisition intraseptal cholinergic treatments can produce amnesia. These findings are discussed with regard to multi‐stage models of hippocampal‐dependent memory formation and the further development of therapeutic strategies in the treatment of mild cognitive impairment as well as age‐related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's dementia. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.