Bidirectional regulation of distinct memory domains by α5-subunit-containing GABAA receptors in CA1 pyramidal neurons

Elif Engin, Maksim Sigal, Dietmar Benke, Anja Zeller, Uwe Rudolph

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Reduction in the expression or function of α5-subunit-containing GABAA receptors (α5GABAARs) leads to improvement in several hippocampus-dependent memory domains. However, studies thus far mostly lack anatomical specificity in terms of neuronal circuits and populations. We demonstrate that mice with a selective knockdown of α5GABAARs in CA1 pyramidal neurons (α5CA1KO mice) show improved spatial and trace fear-conditioning memory. Unexpectedly, α5CA1KO mice were comparable to controls in contextual fear-conditioning but showed an impairment in context discrimination, suggesting fine-tuning of activity in CA1 pyramidal cell dendrites through α5-mediated inhibition might be necessary for distinguishing highly similar contexts.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)423-428
Number of pages6
JournalLearning & memory (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.)
Volume27
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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