system
Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: 5,6-Dihydroxytryptamine, Analysis of Variance, Animals, Animals, Newborn, Biogenic Monoamines, Brain, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Corpus Striatum, Creatinine, Desipramine, Hippocampus, Male, Maze Learning, Memory, Prefrontal Cortex, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Serotonin, Serotonin Antagonists, Spatial Behavior, Swimming.
user
Does neonatal serotonin ( 5-HT ) depletion affect spatial learning and memory in rats? Context: Extensive previous research has suggested a role for serotonin (5-HT) in learning and memory processes, both in healthy individuals and pathological disorders including depression, autism and schizophrenia, most of which have a developmental onset. Since 5-HT dysfunction in brain development may be involved in disease etiology, the present investigation assessed the effects of neonatal 5-HT depletion on spatial learning and memory in the Morris water maze (MWM). Three days old Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with desipramine (20 mg/kg) followed by an intraventricular injection of the selective 5-HT neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT, 70 μg). Three months later rats were tested in the MWM. Despite a severe and permanent decrease (80-98%) in hippocampal, prefrontal and striatal 5-HT levels, treatment with 5,7-DHT caused no spatial learning and memory impairment.
assistant
Limited involvement of chronic 5-HT depletion on learning and memory does not exclude the possibility that this neurotransmitter has an important neuromodulatory role in these functions. Future studies will be needed to identify the nature of the compensatory processes that are able to allow normal proficiency of spatial learning and memory in 5-HT-depleted rats. Final Decision: no