Short term GABA antagonist treatment improves long term sleep quality, memory, and decision-making in a Down syndrome mouse model

Down syndrome (DS) is a common genetic condition affecting people worldwide. It involves cognitive disabilities for which there are no drug therapies. The Ts65Dn mouse model of DS shows cognitive impairment due to a reduction in neuron number and connectivity as well as excessive neuronal activity, as GABA antagonist treatment restores memory in these mice. Our study showed the effects of GABA antagonist treatment on sleep and decision-making in Ts65Dn mice. We administered a daily, low oral dose of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) in milk to Ts65Dn mice for 17 days. Decision-making was tested with and without PTZ treatment. Short and long-term memories were tested before, immediately after, and one month following PTZ treatment. Electro-encephalography (EEG) was also recorded at these three time points to study the effect of the treatment on sleep. We showed that PTZ treatment improved long-term recognition, but not short-term, memory and led to more Ts65Dn mice showing safer decision-making behavior. PTZ treatment showed a moderate and only global beneficial effect on sleep by decreasing the global amount of wake and increasing NREM sleep in the Ts65Dn mice, which may explain the observed cognitive improvements. These results bring new knowledge on the role of GABA in sleep, memory consolidation, and decision-making abilities in DS.