title: Nogo-A downregulation impairs place avoidance in the Carousel maze but not spatial memory in the Morris water maze.
abstract: Nogo-A protein is an important inhibitor of axonal growth, which also regulates neuronal plasticity in the CNS. Mutations in the gene encoding Nogo-A or abnormalities in Nogo-A expression are linked to neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. The present study assesses the impact of constitutively reduced expression of Nogo-A on place navigation in a novel transgenic rat model. Two spatial paradigms were used: (1) A battery of tests in the Carousel maze requiring continuous processing of spatial information with increasing demands for the segregation of reference frames and behavioral flexibility and (2) a delayed-matching-to-place version of the Morris water maze (MWM), which requires place navigation and is sensitive to deficits in one-trial-encoded place representation. The Carousel maze testing revealed a subtle but significant impairment in management of reference frames. Matching-to-place learning in the Morris water maze was unaffected, suggesting an intact representation of an unmarked goal. Our results show that Nogo-A deficiency leads to cognitive deficit in processing of the reference frames. Such a deficit may be the result of neuro-developmental alterations resulting from Nogo-A deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic; Charles University In Prague, 1, Faculty Of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic. Electronic address: disworlds@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Petrasek
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Iva
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Prokopova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Stepan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bahnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Central Institute of Mental Health, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schonig
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Central Institute of Mental Health, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vales
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zürich, and Department of Biology, ETH Zürich, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland; Division of Molecular Mechanisms of Tumor Invasion, German Cancer Research Center, Im Neuenheimer Feld 581, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bjorn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tews
authors.affiliation: Brain Research Institute, University of Zürich, and Department of Biology, ETH Zürich, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schwab
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Central Institute of Mental Health, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bartsch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Videnska 1083, 14220 Prague 4, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Ales
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stuchlik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D009185:Myelin Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000070798:Nogo Proteins; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D013037:Spatial Behavior / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009185:Myelin Proteins; D000070798:Nogo Proteins; C000603197:Rtn4 protein, rat
keywords: Cognitive coordination; Nogo-A; Spatial mazes; Spatial navigation; Transgenic rat model