Background: oxybutynin, a drug for pollakisuria and urinary incontinence, has a potent antimuscarinic activity. This study was aimed to determine whether this drug disrupts learning and memory in rats, because antimuscarinic activity in the central nervous system is considered to cause amnesia in humans.
Methods: male Wistar rats were given oxybutynin or scopolamine as a reference drug, and subjected to the acquisition trial of step-through passive avoidance response (PAR). Twenty-four hours later the retention test for each rat was performed and the latency time in the PAR was measured.
Results: oral administration of oxybutynin at 30 mg/kg or higher and intraperitonial injection of scoplamine at 0.5 mg/kg caused a significant decrease in the latency time in the retention test.
Conclusions: oxubutynin caused a decrease in the retention time of the PAR in a manner similar to scopolamine, indicating that oxybutynin may cause disruption of learning and memory.