Fig. 9: SKF 38393 rescues memory capacity impairment in a pharmacological animal model of schizophrenia.
a Schematic of the experimental design of MK-801 treatment. Mice were treated with vehicle or MK-801 for 7 days, followed by two days of wash-out. They were then tested in the 6 different objects test (6-DOT) or 6 identical objects test (6-IOT). The day after, mice were divided into four sub-groups: vehicle, haloperidol, SKF 38393, and haloperidol plus SKF. The treatment lasted 14 days. On the last day, they were retested in the 6-DOT or 6-IOT under drug. b Effects of sub-chronic treatment of MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg) on the discrimination index during the 6-IOT (One-way ANOVA: Treatment: F1,46 = 0.009; p = 0.9239) and (c) the 6-DOT (One-way ANOVA: Treatment: F1,46 = 24.91; p < 0.0001). MK-801 specifically impaired memory capacity in high but not in low memory load condition. d Effects of haloperidol (Halo) (0.075 mg/kg), SKF 38393 (0.001 mg/kg), and haloperidol in combination with SKF on the discrimination index during the 6-IOT (Two-way ANOVA: Pre-treatment: F1,56 = 0.08; p = 0.7777; Post-treatment: F3,56 = 2.33; p = 0.0832; Pre-treatment x Post-treatment: F3,56 = 0.06; p = 0.9775) and (e) 6-DOT (Two-way ANOVA: Pre-treatment: F1,56 = 4.06; p = 0.0486; Post-treatment: F3,56 = 3.93; p = 0.0128; Pre-treatment x Post-treatment: F3,56 = 2.48; p = 0.0700, Tukey’s post hoc). Haloperidol, when given chronically, dramatically impaired performance in the DOT in both vehicle and MK-801 pretreated animals. SKF rescued memory capacity impairment but did not prevent the impairing effects of haloperidol. Data in bar charts are presented as mean values  ±  SEM. *p < 0.05 vs vehicle. Source data are provided in the Source Data file.
