Non-acute effects of different doses of 3, 4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine on spatial memory in the Morris water maze in Sprague-Dawley male rats

Abstract

3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA; also known as ‘ecstasy’) has been shown to impair learning and spatial memory in adult and neonatal rats. Many studies have focused on the acute effects of MDMA on memory. In the present study, we intraperitoneally administered MDMA (0, 5, 10, 20 mg/kg) to adult male rats to investigate the effects of different doses on rat spatial memory in the Morris water maze, body temperature, and mortality, twice a day, for 7 successive days. The results indicated that MDMA impaired spatial memory dose-dependently, with the highest dose (20 mg/kg) exerting the strongest effects. In addition, MDMA also caused hyperthermia and increased mortality in rats.