Background: Sumatriptan is a serotonin agonist. Hippocampal receptors contribute to the serotonergic control of learning. It seems that sumatriptan can also affect learning through serotonin receptors. Thus, this study was performed to investigate the effect of sumatriptan on cellular mechanisms of learning in male rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, male Wistar rats were kept in standard conditions in the Animal Laboratory of the Department of Physiology, Arak University of Medical Sciences. After doing the surgical procedure and locating the electrodes in the CA1 region of hippocampus, synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation were measured, and the effect of three doses of sumatriptan on these parameters was compared to the control group. Results: Sumatriptan could significantly inhibit the effect of tetanic stimulation on long-term potentioation in the CA1 region of hippocampus, as compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference in the synaptic transmission between the sumatriptan and control groups. Conclusion: This results show that sumatriprtan can probably impair learning and memory through inhibition of LTP in the CA1 region of hippocampus.

Keywords: Hippocampus, long-term potentiation, sumatriptan

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