Background: Previous studies have shown that statins exert neuroprotective effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of lovastatin on learning and memory processes in adult male rats without brain damage.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 35 adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 5 groups of 7 rats. Group 1, the control, without any injection; groups 2-4, test groups, each group received lovastatin (1, 10 and 20 mg/kg, IP daily for five days) and group 5, vehicle-treated group received the same volume of DMSO 5% as lovastatin vehicle. At the end of the treatment with lovastatin or vehicle, 8-arm radial maze and Y-maze task were used to evaluate spatial memory.
Results: The results showed that lovastatin (10, 20 mg/kg) reduced reference and working memory errors and the time elapsed in the 8-arm radial maze task in the acquisition test (P˂0.05) and further reduced these functions in retention testing (P˂0.05) compared to the control group. On the Y maze test, alternation percentage showed a significant increase in 20 mg/kg group compared to the control (P˂0.01).
Conclusion: Our results suggest that high doses of lovastatin improve spatial memory although the exact mechanism by which lovastatin affects memory is unclear and requires further investigation.