Dexamethasone Regimens Alter Spatial Memory and Anxiety Levels in Mice

Abstract

Acute and sub chronic effects of oral dexamethasone on anxiety and memory in mice were evaluated using the elevated plus maze, Y maze and radial arm maze. Adult male Swiss albino mice assigned to five groups were given vehicle (normal saline), a standard drug (Diazepam or Scopolamine) or one of three selected doses of dexamethasone (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg/kg) daily for a period of 14 days. Behavioral tests were carried out on days 1 and 14 after administration. Results were analysed using a one-way ANOVA followed by a posthoc test (Student-Newman-Keul) and expressed as mean ± S.E.M. Elevated plus maze test showed a significant reduction in the time spent in the open arm and in the number of open arm entries compared to control. Results of radial arm and Y maze tasks showed an improvement in spatial memory following dexamethasone administration. Y maze locomotor activity was significantly increased, although radial arm maze exploration did not increase significantly. The study concluded that oral dexamethasone given either acutely or sub chronically has both anxiogenic and memory enhancing effects.