NMDA receptor involvement in the effects of low dose domoic acid in neonatal rats

Summary.

We have previously reported that neonatal rats display enhanced sensitivity to domoic acid relative to adults, and that perinatal injections of low doses of domoic acid alter early associational learning in the newborn rat. The current study was designed to further investigate the effects of low dose domoic acid on neonatal odour conditioning and to determine if the observed effects are due in part to an action on NMDA receptors. Groups of rat pups were conditioned to a novel odour on postnatal day (PND) 8, injected with 20 μg/kg domoic acid either alone, or in combination with the NMDA antagonist CPP (or appropriate controls), daily from day 8–14, reexposed to the conditioning odour or a novel odour on day 9, and tested for odour preference on day 13 using a standard 3-choice paradigm. Results indicated that rats treated with domoic acid spent significantly more time over the conditioning odour than did saline-treated rats when tested on PND 13. This effect was antagonized by concomitant injection of CPP, indicating an involvement of NMDA receptors in the actions of DOM in this paradigm. Rats injected with either saline or CPP alone showed the opposite effect, i.e. a preference for the alternate odour. The results indicate that a very low dose of DOM produces a conditioned odour preference in neonatal rats and that this effect is due in part to NMDA receptor involvement, thereby emphasizing a role for both kainate and NMDA glutamate receptors in implicit memory.