D-CYCLOSERINE, A NOVEL COGNITIVE ENHANCER, IMPROVES SPATIAL MEMORY INAGED RATS

D-cycloserine, a partial agonist of the NMDA receptor associated glyci ne site, can enhance cognition. The present experiment examines the be havioral effects of D-cycloserine on cognitive deficits in male Fische r-344 rats, 24 months old. Rats 24 months old (n = 42) received either vehicle or one of 3 doses of D-cycloserine prior to testing. Young ra ts, 4 months old (n = 13), received vehicle prior to testing. place di scrimination and repeated acquisition were tested in the water maze an d a variety of sensorimotor tasks were given. Aging impaired performan ce in all tasks. D-cycroserine improved performance in place discrimin ation and repeated acquisition. No doses affected sensorimotor functio n. These results support the hypothesis that D-cycloserine has cogniti on enhancing properties and that it may be useful in treating disorder s involving cognitive impairment.