Hamid Soltani Zangbar - Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Solmaz Fallahi - Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Parviz Shahabi - Ageing Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

Background and Aim : Cognitive disturbances has been reported in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients, but it is not clear whether such malfunctions may reflect concurrent brain injury, and the problem has not been addressed mechanistically.Methods : we had two groups; Sham (8) and moderate SCI (8) animals and studied effects of thoracic spinal cord contusion in rats on spatial memory with using T-maze. hippocampal apoptosis was assessed with Tunnel staining and western blotting for detection of Caspase3. Hippocamapl neurogenesis evaluated with detecting DCX and BrdU which injected three days consecutively three days befor sacrificing. Expresion of receptors like muscarinics and NMDA, important in the cognition, was studied with western blotting.Results : Results Showed significant deficit in the spatial memory three weeks after recovery of SCI (P < 0.005). Apoptosis was increased in the hippocampus and neurogenesis decreased significantly (P < 0.005). Expression of muscarinic and NMDA receptors were lower in the SCI group (P < 0.005).Conclusion : These studies show that SCI induces chronic brain neurodegeneration and disrupts hippocampus dependent spatial memory.

SCI , Spatial Memory, Neurodegeneration