A mouse model of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome has impaired fear memory, which is rescued by lithium treatment.

ABSTRACT: Primary cilia are microtubule-based organelles present on most cells that regulate many physiological processes, ranging from maintaining energy homeostasis to renal function. However, the role of these structures in the regulation of behavior remains unknown. To study the role of cilia in behavior, we employ mouse models of the human ciliopathy, Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS). Here, we demonstrate that BBS mice have significant impairments in context fear conditioning, a form of associative learning. Moreover, we show that postnatal deletion of BBS gene function, as well as congenital deletion, specifically in the forebrain, impairs context fear conditioning. Analyses indicated that these behavioral impairments are not the result of impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation. However, our r

SUBMITTER: Pak TK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8061871 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature