Behavioral and neurochemical effects of a chronic choline-deficient diet in the rat.

Abstract Chronic administration of a choline-deficient diet for 20 days caused no modification in ACh levels in the cortex, hippocampus and olfactory system of the rat and an increase in the density ( B max of the muscarinic receptors in the hippocampus. The choline-deficient deet caused no modification in noradrenaline levels and a reduction in the density of α 1 -adrenoceptors in the cortex, hippocampus and olfactory system. This paper discusses the possibility that these neurochemical effects are correlated with the reduction in spontaneous memory decay which was observed in the staircase maze after 20 days of a choline-deficient diet.