Domoic acid, an environmental toxin, produces hippocampal damage and severe memory impairment.

Microinjections of domoic acid, a presumed shellfish toxin, into the hippocampal formation of rats produces degeneration of CA3 and CA1 pyramidal cells and dentate gyrus granule cells. We demonstrate that domoate-treated rats exhibit a long-lasting anterograde amnesia for spatial information in the Morris water task. This preparation provides a good model for examining neurotoxicity and the anterograde amnesic syndrome observed in humans following consumption of domoate-contaminated shellfish.