The mGlu5 receptor regulates extinction of cocaine-driven behaviours.

Background: There is extensive evidence implicating the metabotropic glutamate 5 (mGlu5) receptor in aspects of addiction-related behaviours.

Methods: Here, we used a well-characterized line of mGlu5-deficient mice to further examine the role of this receptor in cocaine-driven behaviours. We confirmed the previously reported deficit in hippocampal long-term potentiation and associated spatial learning impairment.

Neurotoxic effects of repetitive inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation in young adults surfacing with deficits of spatial learning in old age.

Little is known about whether events in youth impact performance in old age. We examined spatial navigation in young (4.5 months) and middle-aged (9 months) CD-1 mice in a complex maze after treatment with 3-nitropropionate (3-np; 20 mg/kg body weight; 9 injections intraperitoneally [i.

Hippocampal synaptic depression following spatial learning in a complex maze.

Activity-dependent alteration in synaptic efficacy is referred to as synaptic plasticity and is the believed hallmark of any learning process. Here we employed a recently validated complex maze for spatial training and investigated the impact of repeated and extensive training on basal synaptic transmission of the hippocampal Schaffer collateral-CA1 synaptic connection in vitro. In the present experiments, male CD-1 mice were trained in a complex maze for eight consecutive days five times a day.

The stamp of ancestry: roots of behavioral and neuronal impairment in adulthood.

Exposure of pregnant animals to noxious conditions affects neuronal function in the offspring. However, exposure or treatment of the maternal animal during pregnancy affects both ancestor and offspring. In the present study, female CD-1 mice were repetitively treated with 3-nitropropionate (3-np), a selective inhibitor of succinic dehydrogenase, exclusively prior to mating.

Spatial navigation in complex and radial mazes in APP23 animals and neurotrophin signaling as a biological marker of early impairment.

Impairment of hippocampal function precedes frontal and parietal cortex impairment in human Alzheimer's disease (AD). Neurotrophins are critical for behavioral performance and neuronal survival in AD. We used complex and radial mazes to assess spatial orientation and learning in wild-type and B6-Tg(ThylAPP)23Sdz (APP23) animals, a transgenic mouse model of AD.

Keeping it short: a comparison of methods for brief picture presentation.

Research has shown that backward masking is a powerful tool for studying unconscious mental processes. Whereas studies have traditionally presented stimuli using cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors or mechanical shutters together with slide projectors, recent studies (mainly in functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) have begun to use methods based on liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and thin-film transistor (TFT) technology. However, because of differences in technology, all methods may not be equally suited for masking.