In conclusion, the present work demonstrated that ORC could attenuate cognitive impairment and neuronal damages in BCCAO-induced VaD in rats possibly through regulation of neuronal apoptosis- and autophagy-related genes via activation of the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, which provides ORC as an effective therapeutic compound targeting neuronal apoptosis/autophagy in VaD treatment. Here, AKT1 is linked to Cognitive impairment.