Abstract:
Attention Deficit / Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterised by a number of behavioural anomalies. Numerous genetic and environmental factors have been implicated to be involved in the development of ADHD. It has been hypothesised previously that ADHD is caused on a neuronal level by an imbalance between excitation and inhibition. Cadherin-13 (CDH13) is one of the genes that are thought to play a role in ADHD. Its protein product is a cell-adhesion molecule that is present in the presynaptic compartment of inhibitory synapses. To gain a better understanding of the effect of a loss of CDH13 function, we investigated the number of inhibitory synapses in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1) region of the hippocampus in a mouse knockout model of the Cdh13 gene. We found no siginificant difference in the number of inhibitory synapses. We propose that further investigation should take place in conditions better controlled for stress.
