Korean J Anesthesiol.  2007 Jun;52(6):687-693. 10.4097/kjae.2007.52.6.687.

Effects of Long-term Intermittent Oxygen Administration on the Cognitive Function in Rats

• Koo SL
• Kim CH
• Ahn HC
• Kim DW
• Kim KH
• Kim C

• KMID: 2299164
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4097/kjae.2007.52.6.687

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Several studies have demonstrated that the transient administration of oxygen improves cognitive performance. However, the effect of long-term oxygen administration remains unknown. This study investigated the impact of long-term oxygen administration on cognitive enhancement. METHODS: Six week old Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 46) were randomly allocated to one of three groups: the control (Control; n = 15), 30 min/day oxygen administration (Oxy30min; n = 16) and 60 min/day oxygen administration groups (Oxy60min; n = 15). The rats in all three groups were administered air or oxygen for 10 weeks. The Morris water maze test was employed to assess the latency (L & Lt), dwelling time (DT) and the total fraction above the mean dwelling time (FmDT) for cognitive performance. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the Oxy30min and Oxy60min groups showed no differences in their L and Lt. There was a dose-response trend due to oxygen administration. Compared to the control group, the Oxy60min group had a significantly improved DT (P< 0.05). The FmDT also significantly increased in both of the oxygen administration groups, which also showed a dose-response trend (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present results suggest that long-term (10 weeks) oxygen administration can dose-dependently enhance cognitive performance.

Keyword

cognitive function; long-term oxygen administration; water maze

MeSH Terms

Animals
Oxygen*
Rats*
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Oxygen