G Protein-Gated K⁺ Channel Ablation in Forebrain Pyramidal Neurons Selectively Impairs Fear Learning.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cognitive dysfunction occurs in many debilitating conditions including Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, schizophrenia, and mood disorders. The dorsal hippocampus is a critical locus of cognitive processes linked to spatial and contextual learning. G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium ion (GIRK/Kir3) channels, which mediate the postsynaptic inhibitory effect of many neurotransmitters, have been implicated in hippocampal-dependent cognition. Available evidence, however, derives primarily from constitutive gain-of-function models that lack cellular specificity.

Methods

We used constitutive and neuron-specific gene ablation models targeting an integral subunit of neuronal GIRK channels (GIRK2) to probe the impact of GIRK channels on associative learning an

SUBMITTER: Victoria NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4862939 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature