Abstract: Methylphenidate and Memory: Effects of Methylphenidate on Morris Water Maze Learning (2011 SACNAS National Conference)

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Hall 1-2 (San Jose Convention Center)

Carina Block , Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Stephan Anagnostaras, PhD , Department of Psychology and Molecular Cognition Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Stephanie Carmack , Department of Psychology and Molecular Cognition Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA

Evidence suggests that psychostimulants can enhance learning and memory in both humans and rodents. Currently psychostimulants such as methylphenidate (e.g. Ritalin) are used to treat attention deficit disorder. Concerningly the drug is widely used off label as a cognitive enhancer. The current study aims to examine how different doses of methylphenidate influence behavior on the Morris water maze, a standard task of spatial learning. Methylphenidate will be given prior to training to evaluate its effect on acquisition, and prior to testing to evaluate its effect on expression of memory. A high dose of methylphenidate (10mg/kg) will be given to model the abusive use and a low dose (1mg/kg) to model the therapeutic dose. The study will evaluate the effects of the different doses on impairment and enhancement of memory. We expect to see an impairment in performance with a high dose of methylphenidate and enhancement in memory with a low dose. With this study we hope to create an animal model of what we see in humans and to later understand the mechanisms behind the behavior.