Genes Brain & Behavior · 2022 · 15 citations · 41 references
L-type voltage-gated calcium channels are important regulators of neuronal activity and are widely expressed throughout the brain. One of the major L-type voltage-gated calcium channel isoforms in the brain is Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3. Mice lacking Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 are reported to have impairments in fear conditioning and depressive-like behaviors, which have been linked to Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 function in the hippocampus and amygdala. Genetic variation in Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 has been linked to a variety of psychiatric disorders, including autism and schizophrenia, which are associated with altered motor learning, associative learning and social function. Here, we explored whether Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 plays a role in these behaviors. We found that Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 knockout mice have deficits in rotarod learning despite normal locomotor function. Deletion of Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 is also associated with impaired gait adaptation and associative learning on the Erasmus Ladder. We did not observe any impairments in Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 knockout mice on assays of anxiety-like, depression-like or social preference behaviors. Our results suggest an important role for Ca<sub>V</sub> 1.3 in neural circuits involved in motor learning and concur with previous data showing its involvement in associative learning.
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