2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Drugs improve mouse cognitive function by increasing the production of insulin-like growth factor-I

Research Project

Project/Area Number	21791771
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Emergency medicine
Research Institution	Nagoya City University
Principal Investigator	NARIMATSU Noriko 名古屋市立大学, 大学院・医学研究科, 研究員 (50381794)
Project Period (FY)	2009 – 2011
Keywords	脳・神経 / リハビリテーション
Research Abstract	Insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I) exerts beneficial effects on cognitive function. Because stimulation of sensory neurons induces IGF-I production by releasing calcitonin gene-related peptide(CGRP) in the mouse brain, we hypothesized that donepezil may have a stimulatory effect on sensory neurons in addition to an inhibitory effect on acetylcholinesterase, thereby promoting angiogesis and neurogenesis through an increase in IGF-I production in the hippocampus. To examine this possibility, we analyzed the effects of two selective acetylcholinesterase inhibitors(donepezil and tacrine) on hippocampal IGF-I production and cognitive function in WT mice, CGRP-knockout[CGRP(-/-)] mice, and WT mice with functional sensory denervation caused by neonatal administration of capsaicin.