Adolescence is a brain maturation developmental period during which remodeling and changes in synaptic plasticity and neural connectivity take place in some brain regions. Different mechanism participates in adolescent brain maturation, including autophagy that plays a role in synaptic development and plasticity. Alcohol is a neurotoxic compound and its abuse in adolescence induces neuroinflammation, synaptic and myelin alterations, neural damage and behavioral impairments. Changes in synaptic plasticity and its regulation by mTOR have also been suggested to play a role in the behavioral dysfunction of binge ethanol drinking in adolescence. Therefore, by considering the critical role of mTOR in both autophagy and synaptic plasticity in the developing brain, the present study aims to evaluate whether binge ethanol treatment in adolescence would induce dysfunctions in synaptic plasticity and cognitive functions and if mTOR inhibition with rapamycin is capable of restoring both effects. Using C57BL/6 adolescent female and male mice (PND30) treated with ethanol (3 g/kg) on two consecutive days at 48‐hour intervals over 2 weeks, we show that binge ethanol treatment alters the density and morphology of dendritic spines, effects that are associated with learning and memory impairments and changes in the levels of both transcription factor CREB phosphorylation and miRNAs. Rapamycin administration (3 mg/kg) prior to ethanol administration restores ethanol‐induced changes in both plasticity and behavior dysfunctions in adolescent mice. These results support the critical role of mTOR/autophagy dysfunctions in the dendritic spines alterations and cognitive alterations induced by binge alcohol in adolescence.

Down Syndrome, with an incidence of one in 800 live births, is the most common genetic alteration producing intellectual disability. We have used the Ts65Dn model, that mimics some of the alterations observed in Down Syndrome. This genetic alteration induces an imbalance between excitation and inhibition that has been suggested as responsible for the cognitive impairment present in this syndrome. The hippocampus has a crucial role in memory processing and is an important area to analyze this imbalance. In this report we have analysed, in the hippocampus of Ts65Dn mice, the expression of synaptic markers: synaptophysin, vesicular glutamate transporter-1 and isoform 67 of the glutamic acid decarboxylase; and of different subtypes of inhibitory neurons (Calbindin D-28k, parvalbumin, calretinin, NPY, CCK, VIP and somatostatin). We have observed alterations in the inhibitory neuropil in the hippocampus of Ts65Dn mice. There was an excess of inhibitory puncta and a reduction of the excitatory ones. In agreement with this observation, we have observed an increase in the number of inhibitory neurons in CA1 and CA3, mainly interneurons expressing calbindin, calretinin, NPY and VIP, whereas parvalbumin cell numbers were not affected. These alterations in the number of interneurons, but especially the alterations in the proportion of the different types, may influence the normal function of inhibitory circuits and underlie the cognitive deficits observed in DS.

Striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) modulates key signaling molecules involved in synaptic plasticity and neuronal function. It is postulated that STEP opposes the development of long-term potentiation (LTP) and that it exerts a restraint on long-term memory (LTM). Here, we examined whether STEP levels are regulated during hippocampal LTP and after training in hippocampal-dependent tasks. We found that after inducing LTP by high frequency stimulation or theta-burst stimulation STEP levels were significantly reduced, with a concomitant increase of STEP levels, a product of calpain cleavage. Importantly, inhibition of STEP with TC-2153 improved LTP in hippocampal slices. Moreover, we observed that after training in the passive avoidance and the T-maze spontaneous alternation task, hippocampal STEP levels were significantly reduced, but STEP levels were unchanged. Yet, hippocampal BDNF content and TrkB levels were increased in trained mice, and it is known that BDNF promotes STEP degradation through the proteasome. Accordingly, hippocampal pTrkB, pPLCγ, and protein ubiquitination levels were increased in T-SAT trained mice. Remarkably, injection of the TrkB antagonist ANA-12 (2 mg/Kg, but not 0.5 mg/Kg) elicited LTM deficits and promoted STEP accumulation in the hippocampus. Also, STEP knockout mice outperformed wild-type animals in an age- and test-dependent manner. Summarizing, STEP undergoes proteolytic degradation in conditions leading to synaptic strengthening and memory formation, thus highlighting its role as a molecular constrain, which is removed to enable the activation of pathways important for plasticity processes.

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Down syndrome (DS) is caused by the presence of an extra copy of the chromosome 21 and it is the most common aneuploidy producing intellectual disability. Neural mechanisms underlying this alteration may include defects in the formation of neuronal networks, information processing and brain plasticity. The murine model for DS, Ts65Dn, presents reduced adult neurogenesis. This reduction has been suggested to underlie the hypocellularity of the hippocampus as well as the deficit in olfactory learning in the Ts65Dn mice. Similar alterations have also been observed in individuals with DS. To determine whether the impairment in adult neurogenesis is, in fact, responsible for the hypocellularity in the hippocampus and physiology of the olfactory bulb, we have analyzed cell proliferation and neuronal maturation in the two major adult neurogenic niches in the Ts656Dn mice: the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus and the subventricular zone (SVZ). Additionally, we carried out a study to determine the survival rate and phenotypic fate of newly generated cells in both regions, injecting 5′BrdU and sacrificing the mice 21 days later, and analyzing the number and phenotype of the remaining 5′BrdU-positive cells. We observed a reduction in the number of proliferating (Ki67 positive) cells and immature (doublecortin positive) neurons in the subgranular and SVZ of Ts65Dn mice, but we did not observe changes in the number of surviving cells or in their phenotype. These data correlated with a lower number of apoptotic cells (cleaved caspase 3 positive) in Ts65Dn. We conclude that although adult Ts65Dn mice have a lower number of proliferating cells, it is compensated by a lower level of cell death. This higher survival rate in Ts65Dn produces a final number of mature cells similar to controls. Therefore, the reduction of adult neurogenesis cannot be held responsible for the neuronal hypocellularity in the hippocampus or for the olfactory learning deficit of Ts65Dn mice.