AMPA receptor GluR2, but not GluR1, subunit deletion impairs emotional response conditioning in mice
Mead AN., Morris HV., Dixon CI., Rulten SL., Mayne LV., Zamanillo D., Stephens DN.
Deletions of gria1 or gria2 genes encoding alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5- methylisoxazole-4-propionic-acid-receptor subunits differ in their effects on appetitive conditioning. The authors investigated whether similar differences would occur in an aversive conditioning test. The ability of a discrete stimulus paired with footshock to subsequently inhibit food-maintained operant responding (conditioned emotional response) was examined in mice with deletions of gria1 or gria2 genes. Whereas gria1 knockout (KO) mice performed normally compared with wild-type (WT) controls, gria2 KO mice displayed no reduction in response rates when the shock-paired stimulus was presented. Nevertheless, gria2 KOs displayed evidence of freezing in a footshock-paired context, indicating that aversive learning could occur. In addition, gria1 KO mice showed some evidence of increased anxiety, and gria2 KOs showed reduced anxiety, in the elevated plus-maze. Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association.