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Comprehensive Autopsy Program for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis
Published on: July 19, 2019
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Hippocampal function is compromised in an animal model of multiple sclerosis
T Novkovic1, O Shchyglo1, R Gold2
1Department of Neurophysiology, Medical Faculty, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany; International Graduate School of Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany.
Neuroscience
|March 22, 2015
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) impairs new memory formation by affecting hippocampal function. This study shows that in an animal model, long-term potentiation (LTP) and spatial memory decline in later disease stages.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Pathology
Background:
- Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a progressive inflammatory autoimmune disease impacting the central nervous system, causing demyelination and axonal damage.
- Cognitive dysfunction, particularly deficits in forming new declarative memories, affects a significant portion of MS patients.
- The hippocampus is crucial for encoding new declarative memories, a process dependent on synaptic plasticity like long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether disease progression in an animal model of MS is associated with impaired hippocampal function, synaptic plasticity, and learning abilities.
- To determine the specific effects of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) on neuronal integrity, LTP, LTD, and hippocampus-dependent memory.
- To elucidate the relationship between MS disease phases and the functional capacity of the hippocampus.
Main Methods:
- Induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in mice using MOG35-55 peptide to model MS.
- Electrophysiological recordings in CA1 pyramidal neurons to assess neuronal properties and synaptic plasticity (LTP and LTD).
- Behavioral testing to evaluate hippocampus-dependent learning and memory, including spatial memory and object recognition memory.
Main Results:
- While passive neuronal properties remained unaffected, the ability of CA1 pyramidal neurons to fire action potentials decreased in the late phase of EAE.
- Long-term potentiation (LTP) was normal in the early phase of EAE but became impaired in the late phase.
- LTP-related spatial memory was impaired in the late phase of EAE, whereas long-term depression (LTD) and object recognition memory remained unaffected.
Conclusions:
- Hippocampal function, specifically LTP and associated spatial memory, is compromised during the progressive stages of MS, as evidenced in the EAE model.
- The findings suggest a disease-specific impairment of hippocampal synaptic plasticity and memory encoding in MS.
- These results highlight the impact of MS on cognitive functions mediated by the hippocampus, particularly as the disease advances.
