Impaired acquisition and retention of a passive avoidance response after chronic ingestion of taurine.

Oral administration of taurine (0.9%) in the drinking water resulted in impairment of acquisition and, to a lesser extent, retention of a step-down passive avoidance task in rats. No effect was found on spontaneous locomotor activity or habituation measured in photocell activity cages. There were also no differences observed in either the taurine-treated or control rats in their sensitivity to electric shock. These observations suggest that the administration of oral taurine may have adverse effects on inhibitory or memory functions.