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. 2013 Dec;19(12):937-44.
doi: 10.1111/cns.12191. Epub 2013 Oct 25.

Glia protein aquaporin-4 regulates aversive motivation of spatial memory in Morris water maze

Ji Zhang  1 , Ying Li, Zhong-Guo Chen, Hui Dang, Jian-Hua Ding, Yi Fan, Gang Hu
Affiliations

Glia protein aquaporin-4 regulates aversive motivation of spatial memory in Morris water maze

Ji Zhang et al. CNS Neurosci Ther. 2013 Dec.

Abstract

Aims: Although extensive investigation has revealed that an astrocyte-specific protein aquaporin-4 (AQP4) participates in regulating synaptic plasticity and memory, a functional relationship between AQP4 and learning processing has not been clearly established. This study was designed to test our hypothesis that AQP4 modulates the aversive motivation in Morris water maze (MWM).

Methods and results: Using hidden platform training, we observed that AQP4 KO mice significantly decreased their swimming velocity compared with wild-type (WT) mice. To test for a relationship between velocities and escape motivation, we removed the platform and subjected a new group of mice similar to the session of hidden platform training. We found that KO mice exhibited a gradual reduction in swimming velocity, while WT mice did not alter their velocity. In the subsequent probe trial, KO mice after no platform training significantly decreased their mean velocity compared with those KO mice after hide platform training. However, all of KO mice were not impaired in their ability to locate a visible, cued escape platform.

Conclusions: Our findings, along with a previous report that AQP4 regulates memory consolidation, implicate a novel role for this glial protein in modulating the aversive motivation in spatial learning paradigm.

Keywords: Aquaporin-4; Astrocyte; Memory; Motivation; Synaptic plasticity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Illustration of the Morris water maze (MWM) training protocol. (A) Wild‐type (WT) and AQP4 knockout (KO) mice were first trained to find the hidden platform (placed in the center of training quadrant) by four trials daily for 9 days and tested by the probe trial on day 10. Starting from day 11, the same animals were subjected to the cued platform training, during which the platform was moved from training quadrant to the opposite quadrant (as illustrated). Animals were trained by four trials daily for 2 days (from day 11 to day 12). (B) WT and AQP4 KO mice were trained to swim without the platform similar to the session of the MWM. TQ, training quadrant; AR, adjacent right quadrant; AL, adjacent left quadrant; OP, opposite quadrant.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Performance in the Morris water maze using hidden platform training was assessed by escape latency (A), distance to the platform (B), and swim velocity (C) during nine training days. Each point represents the mean (±SEM) for four trials of each group. **P < 0.01 and **P < 0.05 indicated significant post hoc differences (Tukey's test) between wild‐type (WT) mice and knockout (KO) mice.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Performance using nonplatform training, as assessed by distance moved (A), swim velocity (B), and trial‐by‐trial learning curves (C) during nine training days. Each point represents the mean (±SEM) for four trials in each group. *P < 0.05 indicated significant post hoc differences (Tukey's test) between wild‐type (WT) mice and knockout (KO) mice.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Performance in percentage of time spent in each quadrant (A, D), distance spent in each quadrant (B, E), number of crossings over the target platform location (C), distance moved in 60 seconds (F), and velocity (G) during the probe trial. Each point represents the mean (±SEM) for each group. *P < 0.05 indicated significant post hoc differences (Tukey's test) compared with wild‐type (WT) mice. # P < 0.05 indicated significant post hoc differences (Tukey's test) compared with corresponding knockout (KO) mice. TQ, training quadrant; AR, adjacent right quadrant; AL, adjacent left quadrant; OP, opposite quadrant.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Performance in escape latency (A), distance (B), and velocity (C) during the cued platform trial. Each point represents the mean (±SEM) for each group. *P < 0.05 indicated significant post hoc differences (Tukey's test) between wild‐type (WT) mice and knockout (KO) mice.
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