Nasrin abolhasan pour - PhD Student of Physiology, Department of Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

objectives: L-carnitine is of considerable interest because of its capacity to counteract several physiological and pathological phenomena typical of brain aging processes. methods: The present study investigated the effect of L-carnitine on memory retention of passive avoidance learning in normal and ovariectomized rats. We examined the effects of L-carnitine on the learning ability of normal and ovariectomized rats. L-carnitine (1, 5 and 10 mg/rat) was received intracerebroventricular injections to normal and ovariectomized adult female rats. Results & Discussion: Our results showed that intracerebroventricular administration of L-carnitine increased step-through latency time and decreased time in dark compartment in passive avoidance tasks in rats. It is concluded that L-carnitine increased memory retention in rats. It is suggested that L-carnitine must be considered as an alternative/adjunctive treatment to potentiate memory retention.

L-carnitine, Ovariectomy, Memory, Learning, Rat