Brief Communication abstract


Nature Neuroscience 10, 411 - 413 (2007)
Published online: 25 February 2007 | doi:10.1038/nn1860

Pharmacotherapy for cognitive impairment in a mouse model of Down syndrome

Fabian Fernandez1, Wade Morishita1, Elizabeth Zuniga1, James Nguyen1, Martina Blank1, Robert C Malenka1 & Craig C Garner1

Top

Ts65Dn mice, a model for Down syndrome, have excessive inhibition in the dentate gyrus, a condition that could compromise synaptic plasticity and mnemonic processing. We show that chronic systemic treatment of these mice with GABAA antagonists at non-epileptic doses causes a persistent post-drug recovery of cognition and long-term potentiation. These results suggest that over-inhibition contributes to intellectual disabilities associated with Down syndrome and that GABAA antagonists may be useful therapeutic agents for this disorder.

Top
  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Nancy Pritzker Laboratory, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California 94304-5485, USA.

Correspondence to: Craig C Garner1 e-mail: cgarner@stanford.edu

MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS

These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.


Extra navigation

Subscribe to Nature Neuroscience

Subscribe

Open Innovation Challenges

ADVERTISEMENT