Enhanced hippocampal neuronal excitability and LTP persistence associated with reduced behavioral flexibility in the maternal immune activation model of schizophrenia

摘要: Individuals with schizophrenia display a number of structural and cytoarchitectural alterations in the hippocampus, suggesting that other functions such as synaptic plasticity may also be modified. Altered hippocampal is likely to affect memory processing, therefore any pathology contribute cognitive symptoms schizophrenia, which includes prominent impairment. The current study tested whether prenatal exposure infection, an environmental risk factor has previously been associated produced changes transmission or plasticity, using maternal immune activation (MIA) animal model. We assessed performance hippocampus-dependent tasks determine altered dysfunction. MIA did not alter basal either dentate gyrus CA1 freely moving adult rats. It did, however, result increased paired-pulse facilitation population spike enhanced persistence long-term potentiation. animals displayed slower learning reversed platform location water maze, similarly slowed during reversal spatial plus maze task. Together these findings are indicative reduced behavioral flexibility response task requirements. results consistent hypothesis this change mechanisms underlie some aspects dysfunction disorder.