The neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate infused into the medial septum nucleus increases hippocampal acetylcholine and spatial memory in rats

The effects of an infusion of the neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate into the medial septum on acetylcholine release in the hippocampus and on spatial memory were evaluated in two experiments. Results show that pregnenolone sulfate enhanced acetylcholine release by more than 50% of baseline and improved recognition memory of a familiar environment. Therefore, our results suggest that the septo-hippocampal pathway could be involved in the promnesic properties of this neurosteroid. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.