Assessment of spatial memory, cognition and learning in a murine model of hippocampal immaturity

• Grant number: 22/10616-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2022
• End date: March 19, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Molecular Biology
• Principal Investigator: Alexander Henning Ulrich
• Grantee: Felipe Kenji Honda
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/07366-4 - Purine and kinin receptors as targets of study and therapeutic interventions in neurological diseases, AP.TEM

Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a mood disorder characterized by alternating episodes of depression and episodes of mania. This disorder is known to affect many aspects of physiology and behavior, including memory and learning. Currently, to study and understand BD and other psychiatric disorders, endophenotypes are used, such as neuronal immaturity in the dentate gyrus. The heterozygous knockout animal model for the CaMKII-alpha enzyme presents this neuronal condition. However, involved mechanisms, the physiology of this condition, and how these affect crucial processes such as memory and learning, are still unclear. Therefore, this project aims to elucidate and characterize memory and learning behavior of heterozygous knockout animal models for the CaMKII-alpha (-/+) enzyme, in order to contribute to the understanding of similar conditions that are found in BD patients. In this way, it is expected to supply more complex knowledge about the molecular and cellular factors involved in this pathological process.