Effect of acute administration of Cisplatin on memory, motor learning, balance and explorative behaviours in rats

Introduction: For some cancer survivors chemotherapy treatment is associated with lasting motor and cognitive impairments, long after treatment cessation. Cisplatin as an anti-neoplastic agent is extremely toxic and can cause severe tissue damage. In the present study, we elucidated alteration in performance of hippocampusand cerebellumrelated behaviours following acute cisplatin treatment in male and female rats. Methods: Male and female wistar rats (120) were divided randomly into eight (two controls [saline] and 6 cisplatin) groups. Cerebellumand hippocampus-related behavioural dysfunction in cisplatin-treated (5, 10 and 15 mg/kg/week for 1 week) rats were analyzed using hippocampus and cerebellumdependent function tasks (Morris Water Maze, Shuttle box, Rotarod and Open field). Results: Exposure to cisplatin impaired motor coordination in male and female rats in all doses. In open field test, the rearing frequency, total distance moved and velocity of both males and females were dramatically affected by exposure to cisplatin. In Morris water maze test, male and female rats that were trained one week after cisplatin injection showed significant memory deficits compared to the saline-treated rats. Conclusion: Hippocampal and cerebellum functions of male and female rats were profoundly affected by exposure to cisplatin. No sex-difference was observed in the most measured variables.