Depressive state adversely affects the memory functions, especially in the geriatric population. The initial stage of memory deficits associated with depression is particularly called as pseudodementia. It is the starting point of memory disturbance before dementia. The purpose of this research was to study depression and its consequent pseudodementia. For this purpose 24 male albino Wistar rats were divided into four groups. Depression was induced by 14 days of chronic restraint stress (CRS) daily for 4 h. After developing a depression model, pattern separation test was conducted to monitor pseudodementia in rats. Morris water maze test (MWM) was also performed to observe spatial memory. It was observed that model animals displayed impaired pattern separation and spatial memory. Treatment was started after the development of pseudodementia in rats. Curcumin at a dose of 200 mg/kg was given to model rats for one week along with the stress procedure. Following the treatment with curcumin, rats were again subjected to the aforementioned behavioral tests before decapitation. Corticosterone levels, brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurochemical analysis were conducted. Model rats showed depressogenic behavior and impaired memory performance. In addition to this, high corticosterone levels and decreased hippocampal BDNF, 5-HT, dopamine (DA), and acetylcholine (ACh) levels were also observed in depressed animals. These behavioral biochemical and neurochemical changes were effectively restored following treatment with curcumin. Hence, it is suggested from this study that pseudodementia can be reversed unlike true dementia by controlling the factors such as depression which induce memory impairment.

抑郁状态会对记忆功能产生不利影响，尤其是在老年人群中。与抑郁症相关的记忆缺陷的初始阶段特别称为假性痴呆。它是痴呆前记忆障碍的起点。这项研究的目的是研究抑郁症及其随之而来的假性痴呆。为此，将 24 只雄性白化 ​​Wistar 大鼠分为四组。抑郁症是由 14 天的慢性束缚应激（CRS）每天持续 4 小时诱发的。建立抑郁症模型后，进行模式分离试验以监测大鼠的假性痴呆。还进行了莫里斯水迷宫测试（MWM）来观察空间记忆。据观察，模型动物表现出模式分离和空间记忆受损。在大鼠出现假性痴呆后开始治疗。模型大鼠在应激过程中给予姜黄素200 mg/kg，持续1周。用姜黄素治疗后，在断头前再次对大鼠进行上述行为测试。进行皮质酮水平、脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）和神经化学分析。模型大鼠表现出抑郁行为和记忆力受损。除此之外，在抑郁动物中还观察到皮质酮水平升高和海马 BDNF、5-HT、多巴胺 (DA) 和乙酰胆碱 (ACh) 水平降低。在姜黄素治疗后，这些行为生化和神经化学变化得到了有效恢复。因此，