Glutamate transporter GLT1 inhibitor dihydrokainic acid impairs novel object recognition memory performance in mice.

Glutamate transporter GLT1 mediates glutamate uptake, and maintains glutamate homeostasis in the synaptic cleft. Previous studies suggest that blockade of glutamate uptake affects synaptic transmission and plasticity. However, the effect of GLT1 blockade on learning and memory still receives little attention. In the present study, we examined the effect of unilateral intracerebroventricular injection of dihydrokainic acid (DHK), a GLT-1 inhibitor, on novel object recognition (NOR) memory performance. The NOR task involved three sessions including habituation, sampling and test. In experiment 1, DHK injection 0.5 h pre-sampling impaired short-term NOR memory performance. In experiment 2, DHK injection 0.5 h pre-sampling impaired long-term NOR memory acquisition. In experiment 3, DHK injection immediately but not 6 h post-sampling impaired long-term NOR memory consolidation. In experiment 4, DHK injection 0.5 h pre-test impaired long-term NOR memory retrieval. Furthermore, DHK-induced memory performance impairment was not due to its effects on nonspecific responses such as locomotor activity and exploratory behavior. The current findings further extend previous studies on the effects of disruption of glutamate homeostasis on learning and memory.