Effects of Zinc/Iron oxide nanocomposites on learning and spatial memory in rats exposed to noise stress

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Psychology, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran

2 Physiology Research Center, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I. R. Iran

Abstract

Abstract
To some degree, Environmental stressors such as road traffic noise affect all organisms as well as their populations, communities, and ecoscapes. Evidence indicates that noise exposure can lead to changes in learning and spatial memory. Notably, in recent years nanotechnologies have been applied to human health with promising results. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of Zinc/Iron oxide nanocomposites on spatial learning and memory in rats exposed to noise stress. Using gelatin, Zinc/Iron oxide nanocomposites were synthesized by the green method. Four groups of rats were exposed to sound stress for 12 days. Three groups received 1.25, 2.5, and 5 mg/kg of Zinc/Iron oxide nanocomposites (ST+N) before the noise stress. Also, three control animals received the same doses of the nanocomposites (CO+N). One group of the stressed (ST) and control (CO) rats received saline. The animals were introduced to the Morris water maze (MWM) for the assessment of learning and spatial memory. We observed a significant difference between the spatial memory of the CO and ST animals. but no significant differences were found between the spatial lerning of the CO and ST rats or between the CO+N and ST+N groups.

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