Effect of L-acetyl carnitine HCl on rat steady-state visual evoked potentials. Comparison with L-carnitine.

L-acetyl carnitine administration increases the amplitude of the steady-state visual evoked potentials (VEPs) obtained with sinusoidal luminance stimulation at 8.4 Hz. This effect was studied with three different doses of L-acetyl carnitine (50, 25, 5 mg/kg) and was compared with the results of injection of similar doses of L-carnitine. The effect is most evident when 50 mg/kg L-acetyl carnitine are administered and has two different time peaks. The second peak of activity showed a dose dependency when 25 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg doses were tested. The effects of L-acetyl carnitine could be depressed by the simultaneous administration of atropine sulfate.