Impaired visual memory in rats reared in isolation is reversed by D-cycloserine in the adult rat.

Previous studies have shown that environmental factors can influence cholinergic and glutamatergic activity in the developing brain, and that the variations in neurochemistry are accompanied by behavioral changes in later life. Rats reared in isolated, social, or enriched environments were tested with a visual discrimination task in adulthood. The results show that saline-treated rats reared in isolation exhibited impaired retention of the discrimination task compared to rats raised in social or enriched environments. However, systemic administration of the NMDA receptor agonist, D-cycloserine (3 mg/kg), restored normal memory function in cognitively impoverished rats. Acquisition of the task was not affected by the rearing conditions. D-Cycloserine is considered to be an efficient cognitive enhancer probably able to compensate for assumed loss of NMDA receptors during isolated rearing.