Session Information
Date: Monday, October 8, 2018
Session Title: Parkinson's Disease: Cognition
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Hall 3FG
Objective: In the present study, we investigated the effects of reduced DA presence in the PFC on cognitive function and whether treatment with Fluvoxamine maleate (FM) attenuated these effects.
Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) affects extra-striatal midbrain cells resulting in reduced extrinsic supply of dopamine (DA) to the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Methods: Maternal separation was used to develop an animal model for early life stress that has chronic effects on brain and behavior. Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with the antidepressant FM prior to 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesion to model motor deficits in rats. The Morris water maze (MWM) and the forelimb use asymmetry (cylinder) tests were used to assess learning and memory impairment and motor deficits respectively. Blood plasma was used to measure corticosterone concentration and prefrontal tissue was collected for lipid peroxidation, DA, and serotonin (5-HT) analysis.
Results: Our results show that animals exposed to early life stress displayed learning and memory impairment as well as elevated basal plasma corticosterone concentration which were attenuated by treatment with FM. A 6-OHDA lesion effect was evidenced by impairment in the cylinder test as well as decreased DA and 5-HT concentration in the PFC. These effects were attenuated by FM treatment resulting in higher DA concentration in the PFC of treated animals than in non-treated animals.
Conclusions: This study suggests that FM may ameliorate cognitive impairment in PD by preserving DA and 5-HT transmission in the PFC.
References: DALLE, E., DANIELS, W. M. U. & MABANDLA, M. V. 2017. Fluvoxamine maleate effects on dopamine signaling in the prefrontal cortex of stressed Parkinsonian rats: Implications for learning and memory. Brain Research Bulletin, 132, 75-81.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
E. Dalle, W. Daniels, M. Mabandla. Fluvoxamine maleate effects on dopamine signaling in the prefrontal cortex of stressed parkinsonian rats: Implications for learning and memory [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2018; 33 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/fluvoxamine-maleate-effects-on-dopamine-signaling-in-the-prefrontal-cortex-of-stressed-parkinsonian-rats-implications-for-learning-and-memory/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2018 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/fluvoxamine-maleate-effects-on-dopamine-signaling-in-the-prefrontal-cortex-of-stressed-parkinsonian-rats-implications-for-learning-and-memory/