title: Mice lacking 5-HT receptors show specific impairments in contextual learning.
abstract: Using 5-HT(7) receptor knockout mice it has been shown that the 5-HT(7) receptor is the main mediator of serotonin-induced hypothermia but very little is known about the relevance of 5-HT(7) receptors in behaviour. We here report that lack of 5-HT(7) receptors leads to a specific learning deficit that is not due to general sensory or behavioural deficits. The knockout mice show impaired contextual fear conditioning but no significant deficits in motor and spatial learning or cued and operant conditioning. In addition, we demonstrate that 5-HT(7) receptor knockout mice display decreased long-term synaptic plasticity within the CA1 region of the hippocampus. The results indicate an important role for the 5-HT(7) receptor in contextual hippocampal-dependent learning and suggest a possible neuronal correlate for such a role is present within the CA1 region of the hippocampus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Krucker
authors.forename: Coree L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Kristen A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Slanina
authors.forename: J Gregor
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Sutcliffe
authors.forename: Peter B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Hedlund
mesh_terms: D000221:Adaptation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003216:Conditioning, Operant; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D003463:Cues; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D013028:Space Perception; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011985:Receptors, Serotonin; C104425:serotonin 7 receptor