Assessment of the influence of ketoconazole on memory retrieval among adult wistar rats.

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the influence of ketoconazole on memory retrieval among adult wister rats in relation to age and gender.Anxiety disorders are of concern and definite treatment is wanting in current medicine. Ketoconazole, a known glucocorticoid synthesis inhibitor was used in this study to reduce memory retrieval in rats which were subjected to a stressful and life threatening water maze training. We wanted to evaluate the time difference after ketoconazole treatment and possible hippocampus neuronal histological changes in the treated animals.At the end of this research study which lasted for eight (8) months, remarkable and appreciable results were found. On the average duration taken by the animals from the four different starting points of swimming trials, the differences between the values of escape latency before and after treatment were found not to be statistically significant (p>0.05). However, there was a possibility of handedness among animals as seen while turning right to the platform.We concluded that, the administration of ketoconazole did not exhibit significant inhibition of glucocorticoid synthesis since the memory retrieval and hippocampus neuronal morphology between the treated and untreated animals did not show significant statistical difference.