*Pregnenolone and Memory

TITLE: [Models for the study of memory and neurosteroids] VERNACULAR TITLE: Les modeles d'etude de la memoire et les neurosteroides.

AUTHORS: Mathis C; Meziane H; Ungerer A

AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Laboratoire d'Ethologie et de Neurobiologie, URA 1295 CNRS, Universite Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France. mathisc@currif.u-strasbg.fr

SOURCE: J Soc Biol 1999;193(3):299-306.

CITATION IDS: PMID: 10542961 UI: 20010674

ABSTRACT: The steroids dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and pregnenolone sulfate (Preg-S) are naturally synthetized in the brain. They improve short term and long term memory performances in a variety of learning tasks and models of amnesia in rodents. DHEA-S and Preg-S modulate GABAergic and glutamatergic synaptic transmission through direct interactions with GABA-A, NMDA and/or sigma 1 membrane receptors. In addition, these two neurosteroids facilitate the release of acetylcholine and modulate synaptic plasticity phenomena in cerebral structures, such as the hippocampus, known to play a role in learning and memory processes. The possible links between these actions and the promnestic effects of DHEA-S and Preg-S are discussed in the present review