Effects of glutaurine treatment on electroshock-induced amnesia. Antiamnesic action of glutaurine

The effects of oral glutaurine (gamma-L-glutamyl-taurine, LitoralonR Chinoin, Budapest) treatment on electroconvulsive shock-induced amnesia were studied. Oral treatment with glutaurine in a dose of 1-20 micrograms was ineffective on electroshock-induced amnesia if the treatment was applied before the electroconvulsive shock. Fifty micrograms given in the same experimental paradigm could attenuate the amnesia considerably. When the treatment with glutaurine was applied immediately after the electroconvulsive shock, even 1 and 10 micrograms doses were effective in attenuating the amnesia in both the 24h and 48h retestings. However when glutaurine was given one hour before the 24h and 48h retestings, it proved to be ineffective. The data indicate that glutaurine is able to prevent electroconvulsive shock-induced amnesia by counteracting the effect of the electroconvulsive shock on the memory consolidation phase, but it is less effective on learning or it is ineffective on retrieval processes.