title: Galanin impairs cognitive abilities in rodents: relevance to Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The neuropeptide galanin and its receptors are localized in brain pathways that mediate learning and memory. Central microinjection of galanin impairs performance of a variety of cognitive tasks in rats. Transgenic mice overexpressing galanin display deficits in some learning and memory tests. The inhibitory role of galanin in cognitive processes, taken together with the fact that overexpression of galanin occurs in Alzheimer's disease, suggests that galanin antagonists may offer a novel therapeutic approach to treat memory loss in patients suffering from Alzheimer's.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, Building 35, Room 1C-903, Mail Code 3730, Bethesda, MA 208923730, USA. crawleyj@intra.nimh.nih.gov
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Crawley
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019004:Galanin / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic
chemical_list: D019004:Galanin