Dopamine restores cortical plasticity in a mouse model of Huntington's disease

Cummings, Damian M.; Milner, Austen J.; Dallerac, Glenn M.; Vatsavayai, Sarat C.; Brown, Jackie Y.; Waights, Verina; Hirst, Mark C. and Murphy, Kerry P. S. J. (2005). Dopamine restores cortical plasticity in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. In: 18th National Meeting of British Neuroscience Association, 3-6 Apr 2005, Brighton, UK.

URL: http://www.bna.org.uk/docs/2005_BNA_abstracts.pdf

Abstract

Huntingdon's disease (HD) is a fatal genetic brain disorder. Predictive genetic testing has revealed early cognitive deficits in asymptomatic patients, in particular impairment in recognition memory. The perirhinal cortex is involved in recognition memory and activity-dependent decrements in neuronal firing are believed to underlie this cognitive process.
In this study, the R6/1 (CAG115) mouse model of HD was used to study changes in perirhinal synaptic plasticity. Brain slices were prepared according to UK legislation. Field potentials were recorded from layer 11/111 in response to stimulation of layer 1 .....[continues].