Altered synaptic plasticity and memory formation in nitric oxide synthase inhibitor-treated rats

Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-arginine to L-citrulline. Growing evidence suggests a physiological role for NO in long-term potentiation (LTP). Since LTP is a form of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in learning and memory,...

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Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 90; no. 19; p. 9191
Main Authors: Böhme, G A, Bon, C, Lemaire, M, Reibaud, M, Piot, O, Stutzmann, J M, Doble, A, Blanchard, J C
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.10.1993
Subjects:
Amino Acid Oxidoreductases - antagonists & inhibitors
Animals
Arginine - analogs & derivatives
Arginine - pharmacology
Avoidance Learning - drug effects
Hippocampus - drug effects
Hippocampus - enzymology
Hippocampus - physiology
In Vitro Techniques
Learning - drug effects
Male
Memory - drug effects
Memory - physiology
Neuronal Plasticity - drug effects
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Nitric Oxide Synthase
Nitroarginine
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Rats, Wistar
Smell
Social Behavior
Space Perception
Synapses - drug effects
Synapses - physiology
Synaptic Transmission - drug effects
Synaptic Transmission - physiology
Time Factors
ISSN:0027-8424
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Summary:Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that is produced in the brain from the metabolism of L-arginine to L-citrulline. Growing evidence suggests a physiological role for NO in long-term potentiation (LTP). Since LTP is a form of synaptic plasticity thought to be involved in learning and memory, we have tested whether inhibition of endogenous NO production affects memory capacities of rats. We found that the NO synthase [L-arginine, NADPH:oxygen oxidoreductase (nitric oxide-forming), EC 1.14.13.39] inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine, at doses blocking LTP in hippocampal slices, impairs spatial learning in a radial arm maze and olfactory memory in a social recognition test. In contrast, N omega-nitro-L-arginine left shock-avoidance learning unaffected. These results indicate that NO is involved in some but not all forms of memory and further support the existence of a causal link between LTP and spatial learning.
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ISSN:0027-8424
DOI:10.1073/pnas.90.19.9191