Behavioral phenotyping and dopamine dynamics in mice with conditional deletion of the glutamate transporter GLT-1 in neurons: resistance to the acute locomotor effects of amphetamine.

Rationale: GLT-1 is the major glutamate transporter in the brain and is expressed predominantly in astrocytes but is also present in excitatory axon terminals. To understand the functional significance of GLT-1 expressed in neurons, we generated a conditional GLT-1 knockout mouse and inactivated GLT-1 in neurons using Cre-recombinase expressed under the synapsin 1 promoter, (synGLT-1 KO).

Objectives: Abnormalities of glutamate homeostasis have been shown to affect hippocampal-related behaviors including learning and memory as well as responses to drugs of abuse.