Activation of neurotensin receptor 1 facilitates neuronal excitability and spatial learning and memory in the entorhinal cortex: beneficial actions in an Alzheimer's disease model.

ABSTRACT: Neurotensin (NT) is a tridecapeptide distributed in the CNS, including the entorhinal cortex (EC), a structure that is crucial for learning and memory and undergoes the earliest pathological alterations in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Whereas NT has been implicated in modulating cognition, the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which NT modifies cognitive processes and the potential therapeutic roles of NT in AD have not been determined. Here we examined the effects of NT on neuronal excitability and spatial learning in the EC, which expresses high density of NT receptors. Brief application of NT induced persistent increases in action potential firing frequency, which could last for at least 1 h. NT-induced facilitation of neuronal excitability was mediated by downregulation of TREK-2 K(+)

SUBMITTER: Xiao Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4019809 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature