• Michael R Hoane.
• Restorative Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain and Cognitive Science Program, Department of Psychology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, USA. mhoane@siu.edu
• Restor Neurol Neuros. 2005 Jan 1;23(2):67-77.

PurposePrevious studies have shown that administration of MgCl2 in animal models of brain injury significantly improves functional recovery: however, few studies have examined cognitive recovery. The present study evaluated the effect of MgCl2 pharmacotherapy on recovery of function following medial frontal cortex contusion injury.MethodsGroups of rats were assigned to either MgCl2 (1.0 mmol/kg) or saline treatment conditions and prepared with contusion injuries or shams. Drug treatment was administered 15 min and 24 hr following injury. Rats were examined on tests of sensorimotor performance (bilateral tactile adhesive removal) and cognitive ability (reference and working memory).ResultsAdministration of MgCl2 following injury significantly reduced the behavioral impairments observed on the bilateral tactile removal test. The acquisition of reference memory was also significantly improved compared to saline-treated rats; however, treatment did not improve working memory performance. Lesion analysis revealed that administration of MgCl2 did not significantly reduce lesion size compared to saline-treatment. Examination of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression showed that MgCl2 did significantly reduce the number of GFAP+ cells.ConclusionThese results indicate that MgCl2 administration significantly improved behavioral outcome following injury in a task dependent manner and reduced GFAP expression.

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