90 Intra-accumbens injection of a dopamine aptamer abates MK-801-induced cognitive dysfunction in a model of Schizophrenia

Aptamers are short, single-stranded sequences of DNA or RNA, which exhibit conformationally unique three-dimensional structures. Aptamer binding to target molecular substrates (from small molecules to proteins) demonstrates a high degree of affinity and specificity, in an analogous fashion to antigen–antibody binding. Aptamers offer several advantages over antibodies, including highly reproducible synthesis and ease of modification. Though the characteristics of aptamers and their applicability within the central nervous system show great potential, research in this area is limited. In the present work, the ability of a dopamine-binding DNA aptamer to regulate MK-801-induced cognitive deficits when injected into the nucleus accumbens was investigated. Systemic administration of the non-competitive NMDA-receptor antagonist, MK-801, has been proposed to model cognitive deficits similar to those seen in patients with schizophrenia. Rats were trained to bar press for chocolate pellet rewards then randomly ass...