CHANGES IN ADULT RAT MEMORY INDUCED BY MELATONIN SUPPRESSION IN YOUTH

Evolutionarily, organisms have retained the ability to learn, in the face of stimuli and experiences, enabling them to modulate their behavior and update their knowledge about the world. The brain is considered the central organ for learning and memory processing, being able to learn, train and store information in the form of memory. For the brain to correctly perform these tasks, it is essential that it has the ability to undergo changes in its structure, known as plasticity. Some substances can act altering neuroplasticity, as is the case of melatonin, which acts stimulating all phases of plastic processes, and also acts increasing denditrogenesis and synaptogenesis. Melatonin consists in a lipophilic neurohormone, produced by the pineal gland, which has a regulatory function of circadian rhythms, protector of mitochondria, antioxidant agent, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and active in plasticity processes. The abrupt suppression of this hormone may be related to the onset of cognitive disorders and changes in neuroplasticity.