GluR-A-deficient mice display normal acquisition of a hippocampus-dependent spatial reference memory task but are impaired during spatial reversal

Acquisition and reversal of a spatial discrimination were assessed in an appetitive, elevated plus-maze task in 4 groups of mice: knockout mice lacking the AMPA receptor subunit GluR-A (GluR I), wild-type controls, mice with cytotoxic hippocampal lesions, and controls that had undergone sham surgery. In agreement with previous studies using tasks such as the water maze, GluR-A(-/-) mice were unimpaired during acquisition of the spatial discrimination task, whereas performance in the hippocampal group remained at chance levels. In contrast to their performance during acquisition, the GluR-A(-/-) mice displayed a mild deficit during reversal of the spatial discrimination and were profoundly impaired during discrete trial, rewarded-alternation testing on the elevated T maze. The latter result suggests a short-term, flexible spatial working memory impairment in GluR-A(-/-) mice, which might also underlie their mild deficit during spatial reversal.