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Intrahippocampal administration of BDNF in adult rats affects short‐term behavioral plasticity in the Morris water maze and performance in the elevated plus‐maze
Author(s) -
Cirulli Francesca,
Berry Alessandra,
Chiarotti Flavia,
Alleva Enrico
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
hippocampus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.767
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1098-1063
pISSN - 1050-9631
DOI - 10.1002/hipo.10220
Subject(s) - water maze , psychology , hippocampus , morris water navigation task , brain derived neurotrophic factor , neurotrophic factors , neuroscience , synaptic plasticity , neuroplasticity , developmental psychology , anesthesia , medicine , receptor
The present study evaluated the effects of a single intrahippocampal administration of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on memory retention in a water maze. Adult rats were trained in a water maze (acquisition phase, day 1). Immediately after the last training trial subjects were injected in the right hippocampus with either BDNF (24 μg) or phosphate‐buffered saline (1 μl). On day 2, all subjects were tested for memory retention in a probe trial and were subsequently tested for reversal learning. While no differences emerged in the probe trial, BDNF‐treated subjects showed a shorter latency and a shorter path length to reach the platform during the reversal phase. A significant difference in their “turn angle” and in their swim paths suggests that they might have used a different search strategy compared with controls. Moreover, all subjects also underwent an elevated‐plus maze test. BDNF‐treated‐animals showed a clear tendency to spend a greater amount of time in the open arms and a significantly higher frequency of grooming behavior and of the stretched‐attend posture in this maze area, but no differences in locomotion. Overall, these results indicate that administration of BDNF improves performance in a spatial memory task and has enduring effects on emotional behavior. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.