The intra-hippocampal leucine administration impairs memory consolidation and LTP generation in rats.

VIVIANE GLASER ; VALERIA P. CARLINI ; LAURA GABACH ; MARISA GHERSI; SUSANA RUBIALES DE BARIOGLIO; OSCAR A. RAMIREZ ; MARIELA F. PEREZ ; ALEXANDRA LATINI

SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS

Año: 2010 p. 1067 - 1067

Leucine accumulates in fluids and tissues of patients affected by maple syrup urine disease, an inherited metabolic disorder, predominantly characterized by neurological dysfunction. Although, a variable degree of cognition/psychomotor delay/mental retardation is found in a considerable number of individuals affected by this deficiency, the mechanisms underlying the neuropathology of these alterations are still not defined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acute intra-hippocampal leucine administration in the step-down test in rats. In addition, the leucine effects on the electrophysiological parameter, long-term potentiation generation, and on the activities of the respiratory chain were also investigated. Male Wistar rats were bilaterally administrated with leucine (80 nmol/hippocampus; 160 nmol/rat) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (controls) into the hippocampus immediately post-training in the behavioral task. Twenty-