Fluoxetine in adulthood normalizes GABA release and rescues hippocampal synaptic plasticity and spatial memory in a mouse model of Down syndrome

T Begenisic, L Baroncelli, G Sansevero… - Neurobiology of …, 2014 - Elsevier
T Begenisic, L Baroncelli, G Sansevero, M Milanese, T Bonifacino, G Bonanno, G Cioni
Neurobiology of disease, 2014Elsevier
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder associated with mental
retardation. It has been repeatedly shown that Ts65Dn mice, the major animal model for DS,
have severe cognitive and synaptic plasticity dysfunctions caused by excessive inhibition in
their temporal lobe structures. Here we employed a multidisciplinary approach spanning
from the behavioral to the electrophysiological and molecular level to investigate the effects
elicited by fluoxetine on cognitive abilities, hippocampal synaptic plasticity and GABA …
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder associated with mental retardation. It has been repeatedly shown that Ts65Dn mice, the major animal model for DS, have severe cognitive and synaptic plasticity dysfunctions caused by excessive inhibition in their temporal lobe structures. Here we employed a multidisciplinary approach spanning from the behavioral to the electrophysiological and molecular level to investigate the effects elicited by fluoxetine on cognitive abilities, hippocampal synaptic plasticity and GABA release in adult Ts65Dn mice. We report that a chronic treatment with fluoxetine administered in the drinking water normalizes GABA release and promotes recovery of spatial memory abilities, spatial working memory for alternation, and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in adult Ts65Dn mice. Our findings might encourage new experimental attempts aimed at investigating the potential of fluoxetine for application in the treatment of major functional deficits in adult people with DS.
Elsevier