Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) induces cognitive deficits and affects GABAB receptors and IGF-1 receptors in male rats.

In recent years, the abuse of the club drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) has become increasingly popular among adolescents. The drug induces euphoria but can also result in sedation, anaesthesia as well as short-term amnesia. In addition, the abuse of GHB causes cognitive impairments and the mechanism by which GHB induces these impairments is not clarified. The present study investigates the impact of GHB treatment on spatial learning and memory using a water maze (WM) test in rats. Furthermore, the behavioural data is combined with an autoradiographic analysis of the GABAB and the IGF-1 receptor systems. The results demonstrate that the animals administered with GHB display an impaired performance in the WM test as compared to controls. In addition, significant alterations in GABAB and IGF-1 receptor density as well as GABAB receptor functionality, were observed in several brain regions associated with cognitive functions e.g. hippocampus. To conclude, our findings suggest that GHB treatment can affect spatial learning and memory, and that this outcome at least to some extent is likely to involve both GABAB and IGF-1 receptors.