Cerebral cortex
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Hippocampal synaptic plasticity is expressed to very different extents in distinct rat strains in vivo. This may correlate with differences in learning ability. We investigated whether the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR5 contributes to differences in long-term potentiation (LTP) and learning in freely moving hooded Lister (HL) and Wistar rats. ⋯ Western blot analysis revealed lower expression of mGluR5 in HL compared with Wistar rats. MGluR1 expression was equivalent. These data reveal striking mGluR5-dependent differences in spatial learning in different rat strains, which correlate to synaptic plasticity and mGluR5 expression levels.