Effects of donepezil on the cognitive function of chronic epileptics rats kindled by pentylenetetrazole

Objective To explore the effect of donepezil(Done)on the spatial learning and memory capacity of chronic epileptics model rats kindled by pontylentetrazole(PZT).Methods Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into control group(n=18),in which rats received intraperitoneal injections of the 0.9%0.9% saline) for 21 days.After completely kindled.model group rats divided randomly into PTZ group and Done group.Donepozil was orally administrated for 21 days in the Done group,meanwhile,PTZ was applied sequentially in PTZ group and Done group.After the last application of donepezil.cognitive function was tested by Morris water maze,step-down test,and event-related potential P300.Results The escape latency,total swimming time in platform quadrant and crossing times in the Morris water maze test were different significantly when compared PTZ group with control group (F=29.8,P=0.005;t=5.32,P=0.008;t=17.5,P=0.03,respectively),similarly results in the step-down test (t=3.86,P=0.02) and P300 peak latency were obtained(t=3.11,P=0.03).There were significantly differences in the early term of water maze and step-down test when Done group compared with control group (P<0.05),however,no differences were found in the late term of water maze and step-down and P300 test.Conclusion PTZ kindled rats are cognition impairment.and donepezile can improve the spatial learning capacity partially,elevate the spatial memory capacity significantly and prolong the P300 latency,thus boost the cognitive function of chronic epileptics rat. Key words: Rat; Epilepsy; Cognitive function; Donepezil