Background: Cerebral malaria, the main complication of Plasmodium falciparum infection in humans, is associated with persistent neurocognitive sequels both in human disease and the murine experimental model. In recent years, cognitive deficits related to uncomplicated (non-cerebral) malaria have also been reported in chronically exposed residents of endemic areas, but not in some murine experimental models of non-cerebral malaria. This study aimed at evaluating the influence of uncomplicated malaria on different behavioural paradigms associated with memory and anxiety-like parameters in a murine model that has the ability to develop cerebral malaria.
Methods: Plasmodium berghei ANKA-infected and non-infected C57BL/6 mice were used. Development of cerebral malaria was prevented by chloroquine treatment starting on the fourth day of infection. The control group (non-infected mice) were treated with PBS. The effect of uncomplicated malaria infection on locomotor habituation, short and long-term memory and anxious-like behaviour was evaluated 64 days after parasite clearance in assays including open field, object recognition, Y-maze and light/dark tasks.
Results: Plasmodium berghei ANKA-infected mice showed significant long-lasting disturbances reflected by a long-term memory-related behaviour on open field and object recognition tasks, accompanied by an anxious-like phenotype availed on open field and light-dark tasks.
Conclusions: Long-term neurocognitive sequels may follow an uncomplicated malaria episode in an experimental model prone to develop cerebral malaria, even if the infection is treated before the appearance of clinical signs of cerebral impairment.
Keywords: Anxiety; Behavioural impairment; C57BL/6 mice; Memory; Plasmodium berghei; Uncomplicated malaria.