IMPROVEMENT OF COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN WISTAR RATS UNDER CHRONIC STRESS CONDITIONS WITH MELATONIN.

Abstract

Stress is a significant factor affecting cognitive functions such as memory, attention and learning ability. This paper examined the effects of melatonin at different dosages on cognitive performance compared to choline alphoscerate on wistar line rats under chronic stress conditions. The studied rats were subjected to stress - Porsolt's forced swim test. Before and after the stress test, blood was collected from the tail vein of the rats. Cortisol levels increased in all groups, including the control group. However, the melatonin levels in each group changed to a different degree as each group was offered different levels of melatonin dosage and the drug, choline alphoscerate. In the result, it was found that rats receiving low doses of melatonin did not improve the results, increasing the time from 29.7 to 38.2 seconds. The rats receiving high doses of melatonin performed the best, with virtually no increase in time to complete the maze (increasing the time from 29.6 to 33.5 seconds). The group receiving choline alphoscerate showed similar results to the control group, significantly increasing the maze time from 29.4 to 47.4 seconds.