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Updated: May 23, 2026

Evaluation of Synapse Density in Hippocampal Rodent Brain Slices
Published on: October 6, 2017
Thiamine deficiency degrades the link between spatial behavior and hippocampal synapsin I and phosphorylated synapsin
Leticia S Resende1, Angela M Ribeiro, David Werner
1Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, Laboratório de Neurociência Comportamental e Molecular, LaNeC, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-010, Brazil.
Abstract:
The links between spatial behavior and hippocampal levels of synapsin I and phosphosynapsin I were assessed in normal rats and in the pyrithiamine-induced thiamine deficiency (PTD) rat model of Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome. Synapsin I tethers small synaptic vesicles to the actin cytoskeleton in a phosphorylation-dependent manner, is involved in neurotransmitter release and has been implicated in hippocampal-dependent learning. Positive correlations between spontaneous alternation behavior and hippocampal levels of both synapsin I and phosphorylated synapsin I were found in control rats. However, spontaneous alternation performance was impaired in PTD rats and was accompanied by a significant reduction (30%) in phosphorylated synapsin I. Furthermore, no correlations were observed between either form of synapsin I and behavior in PTD rats. These data suggest that successful spontaneous alternation performance is related to high levels of hippocampal synapsin I and phosphorylated synapsin I. These results not only support the previous findings that implicate impaired hippocampal neurotransmission in the spatial learning and memory deficits associated with thiamine deficiency, but also suggest a presynaptic mechanism.
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