Short communicationRole of CaV2.1-mediated NMDA receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens in spatial short-term memory

Heterozygous rolling Nagoya (rol/+) mice with a CaV2.1α1 mutation show normal Y-maze behavior. Intra-accumbens injection of N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA; 0-2.0 μg/side) induced similar spontaneous alternations in wild-type and rol/+ mice; injections of NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 (0.5 μg/side) or CaV2.1 inhibitor levetiracetam (0.1 μg/side) did not affect controls but decreased spatial cognition in rol/+ mice, suggesting that CaV2.1-mediated NMDA receptor signaling in the nucleus accumbens is involved in short-term spatial learning.