title: Developmental sensitivity of associative learning to cholesterol synthesis inhibitors.
abstract: Patients with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, a genetic disorder associated with severe mental retardation, are unable to convert 7-dehydrocholesterol to cholesterol. Treatment of rats with agents that block cholesterol synthesis produces a sterol profile reminiscent of Smith-Lemli-Opitz patients i.e., low levels of cholesterol accompanied by the appearance of its immediate precursor 7-dehydrocholesterol. In previous work, chronic inhibition of cholesterol synthesis in just-weaned rats impaired acquisition of the classically conditioned eyeblink response. The present study had two primary goals--(1) to determine whether the learning impairment depended on the age in which treatment was initiated; and (2) to determine whether the deficit was associative or due to performance factors. Consistent with earlier work, acquisition of the eyeblink conditioned response was impaired when the 30-day treatment was initiated on postnatal day (PND) 21. Reactivity to acoustic stimuli and to eyelid stimulation were normal, suggesting that the learning impairment was associative in nature. The learning impairment was transitory; acquisition was normal when evaluated 30 days after the cessation of treatment. When treatment was initiated 30 days after weaning (PND 51), acquisition of the eyeblink response was normal. However, brain sterols of young adult rats were less affected than those of just-weaned rats. Thus, there is a developmental sensitivity to cholesterol synthesis blocking agents both in terms of their effects on brain sterols and new motor learning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Batta
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Tint
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salen
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Dyer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kendler
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Servatius
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D001245:Association Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors; D044925:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; D010879:Piperazines / Q000494:pharmacology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D013216:Reflex, Startle / Q000187:drug effects; D001371:trans-1,4-Bis(2-chlorobenzaminomethyl)cyclohexane Dihydrochloride / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D010879:Piperazines; D001371:trans-1,4-Bis(2-chlorobenzaminomethyl)cyclohexane Dihydrochloride; C047457:BM 15766; D002784:Cholesterol; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D044925:Oxidoreductases Acting on CH-CH Group Donors; C019995:7-dehydrocholesterol reductase