Objective: To investigate the effects of Buyang Huanwu decoction（BYHWD） combined with enriched environment on learning memory function and the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins Fas

Bax and Caspase-3 in rats with vascular dementia.Method: The animal model of middle cerebral artery（MCA） ischemia was adopted.The BYHWD group

enriched environment group and combing group were given relative treatment.The rats were killed after thirty days continuous treating.Learning and memory ability of animal were evaluated by Morris water maze method.The ELISA method was used to measure the levels of Caspase-3 in the frontal cortex.The expression of Fas and Bax were observed by immunohistochemical staining and then analyzed by imaged analysis system.Result: The BYHWD group and enriched environment group could improve the spatial reference memory ability（P<0.01）

BYHWD combined with enriched environment could improve the spatial reference memory and working memory ability of rats（P<0.01 or P<0.05）;YHWD treatment could reduce the expression of Fas and Bax in the frontal cortex（P<0.01 or P<0.05）

enriched environment intervention also could reduce the expression of Bax（P<0.01）;after the treatment of BYHWD combined with enriched environment

the expression of Fas in the frontal cortex was significantly decreased compared with enriched environment group（P<0.05）

the expression of Bax was markedly decreased compared with the BYHWD group（P<0.05）

the expression of Caspase-3 was significantly decreased compared with the BYHWD group and enriched environment group（P<0.01）.Conclusion: BYHWD combined with enriched environment had synergistic effect that it could improve the ability of learning memory of rats with vascular dementia

reduce the expression of Fas

Bax and inhibite the activation of Caspase-3.