Standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba treatment and novelty on the weak encoding of spatial recognition memory in rats

Abstract

Long-term memory (LTM) formation is dependent on neurochemical changes that guarantee that a recently formed memory (short-term memory [STM]) remains in the specific neural circuitry via the consolidation process. The persistence of recognition memory has been evidenced by using behavioral tagging in young adult rats, but it has not been effective on aging. Here, we investigated the effects of treatment with a standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba (EGb) associated with novelty on the consolidation of object location memory (OLM) and its persistence after weak training of spatial object preference in young adult and aged rats. The object location task used in this study included two habituation sessions, training sessions associated or not associated with EGb treatment and contextual novelty, and short-term or long-term retention testing sessions. Altogether, our data showed that treatment with EGb associated with novelty close to the time of encoding resulted in STM that lasted for 1 h and persisted for 24 h for both young adult and aged rats. In aged rats, the cooperative mechanisms induced robust long-term OLM. Our findings support and extend our knowledge about recognition memory in aged rats and the modulating effects of EGb treatment and contextual novelty on the persistence of memory.