Spatial learning and hippocampal long-term potentiation are not impaired in mdx mice

Moderate non-progressive cognitive impairment is a consistent feature of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), although few central nervous system abnormalities have yet been identified. A model for DMD is provided by the mdx mouse which fails to produce full length dystrophin in muscle and brain. In this study we have compared performances in a hippocampal-dependent spatial learning task, the Morris water maze, in mdx mice and in age-matched normal (C57BL/10) mice. There was no difference in acquisition rates or in retention between the two groups. We also found no difference in the magnitude of long-term potentiation (LTP) between the two groups, either in the dentate gyrus or in area CA 1. These experiments demonstrate that neither spatial learning nor hippocampal synaptic plasticity are significantly affected by the lack of full-length dystrophin.