CU investigators have created a reversible CaMKIIa knockout mouse model to study the effects of restoring CaMKIIa expression in adult animals. To generate the CaMKIIa knockout mouse, a loxP/neomycin cassette was inserted into the CaMKIIa gene. The research team then crossed the CaMKIIa knockout mice with a mouse line carrying an inducible Cre recombinase, which allows for complete restoration of CaMKIIa expression in adult mice. The knockout mice have a schizophrenic phenotype and are impaired for LTP, which is a form of synaptic plasticity involved in brain function. Reversible “knock-back” of CaMKIIa expression can be used to identify positive effects of restoring CaMKIIa to wild-type levels.