This study looked at how kratom, a plant that some people use as a drug, affects the brains and
behaviors of young rats. The researchers gave different doses of kratom or a drug called morphine
to young rats for 15 days. Then, they tested the rats’ memory, social skills, and ability to learn and
remember locations.

The results showed that kratom and morphine affected the rats’ social and memory skills. The rats
spent less time exploring new objects and spent less time being social with other rats. The rats also
had trouble remembering the location of a hidden platform in a maze. The researchers also looked
at the chemicals in the rats’ brains and found changes in the levels of certain chemicals. These
changes may explain why the kratom and morphine affected the rats’ behaviors.

Key takeaways:

• Kratom and morphine affected the rats’ memory, social skills, and ability to learn and remember locations.
• The changes in the rats’ brain chemicals may explain the behavioral effects.
• More research is needed to understand how kratom affects the brain and behavior, especially in young people.

For further reading:

Link: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2022.1057423/full

Full Citation:

Zul Aznal, A. N., Mohamad Nor Hazalin, N. A., Hassan, Z., Mat, N. H., Chear, N. J.-Y., Teh, L. K., Salleh, M. Z., & Suhaimi, F. W. (2022). Adolescent kratom exposure affects cognitive behaviours and brain metabolite profiles in Sprague-Dawley rats. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 13,1057423.