Physiol. Genomics Ad Instruments
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Physiol. Genomics 26: 145-151, 2006; doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00019.2006
1094-8341/06 $8.00
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ruiz-Opazo, N.
Right arrow Articles by Tonkiss, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ruiz-Opazo, N.
Right arrow Articles by Tonkiss, J.
Received 9 February 2006; accepted in final form 27 April 2006.
Physiological Genomics 26:145-151 (2006)
1094-8341/06 $8.00 © 2006 American Physiological Society

Genome-wide scan for quantitative trait loci influencing spatial navigation and social recognition memory in Dahl rats

Nelson Ruiz-Opazo1 and John Tonkiss2

1 Section of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
2 Center for Behavioral Development and Mental Retardation, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts

The genetic determinants of learning and memory have been difficult to unravel because of the complex inheritance of these forms of cognitive behavior encompassing multiple genetic and environmental factors. Indeed, genes that can account for strain and individual variations in learning and memory are largely unknown. Here we report a genome-wide scan for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting spatial learning and memory and social recognition memory in an F2 population derived from Dahl rats. We detected five QTLs on chromosomes 1, 8, 11, 17, and 20 affecting spatial acquisition performance and five QTLs on chromosomes 2, 3, 9, and 20 influencing spatial accuracy (once information about the target location had been acquired). None of these QTLs overlap, indicating the existence of independent genetic determinants for these two distinct behavioral components of spatial navigation. Moreover, five QTLs affecting social recognition memory were detected, two on chromosome 9 and three on chromosome X. The chromosomal regions linked to social recognition memory performance in the rat are syntenic to regions that have been linked to autism in humans. Thus our results could have paradigmatic value in guiding the experimental investigation of similar pathways in genetic susceptibility to this disorder, which results in profound impairments in social behavior.

genetics; Morris water maze; acquisition; spatial accuracy






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Visit Other APS Journals Online
Copyright © 2006 by the American Physiological Society.