NBQX DOES NOT AFFECT LEARNING AND MEMORY TASKS IN MICE - A COMPARISONWITH D-CPPENE AND IFENPRODIL

The pha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionate (AMPA) antagoni st ihydroxy-6-nitro-7-sulfamoyl-(benzo(F)-quinoxaline (NBQX) did not i mpair working memory measured as alternation behavior in the Y-maze in mice. No depressant effect on alternation was detected even when NBQX impaired locomotion measured as the total number of arm entries. Simi lar profile of action in the Y-shaped maze was observed after administ ration of an anti-ischemic drug ifenprodil. In contrast, the N-methyl- D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist 4-(3-phosphonoprop-2-enyl)piperazine-2-c arboxylate (D-CPPene) impaired spontaneous alternation. In the step-th rough passive avoidance task, mice were trained to avoid dark compartm ent entry. NBQX and ifenprodil did not impair learning in this task wh en administered before or immediately after training. In contrast, D-C PPene disturbed acquisition when administered before but not immediate ly after training or before retention test. These observations suggest that AMPA receptors are not critically involved in the formation of s patial working memory and acquisition (storage) in the passive avoidan ce, and have no effect on recall (retrieval) from long-term memory.