ALTERED SYNAPTIC PHYSIOLOGY AND IMPAIRED COGNITION, RESPONSE TO NOVELTY AND MOTOR BEHAVIOR IN A RODENT MODEL OF ACCELERATED AGING

Aging causes changes in synaptic physiology as well as cognitive decline and impaired motor function. We evaluated the relation between motor function, cognitive performance and selective synaptic markers in natural aging and a rat model of accelerated aging (AA). AA was induced by D-galactose (250...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inActa neurobiologiae experimentalis Vol. 82; p. XCV
Main Authors Gil, Marta, Caulino‑Rocha, Ana, Vila‑Verde, Beatriz, Reis‑Borges, Diana, Nascimento, Carlos, Cunha-Reis, Diana
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Warsaw Polish Academy of Sciences 01.01.2022
Subjects
Aging
Aging (natural)
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Cognitive tasks
D-Galactose
Field tests
Galactose
Gephyrin
Hippocampal plasticity
Hippocampus
Motor task performance
Object recognition
Open-field behavior
Pattern recognition
Physiological responses
Physiology
Postsynaptic density proteins
Synaptic plasticity
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Summary:Aging causes changes in synaptic physiology as well as cognitive decline and impaired motor function. We evaluated the relation between motor function, cognitive performance and selective synaptic markers in natural aging and a rat model of accelerated aging (AA). AA was induced by D-galactose (250 mg/kg) administration to 12-week-old rats for 40 days and matched to Sham (saline injections) and 4 – 21-month old (natural aging) rats. Behavioral evaluation was performed with the open-field test; rotarod, and water maze. Novelty responses were evaluated by the novel object recognition test1 and the mismatch novelty test2. Hippocampal expression of synaptic markers and markers of aging-associated altered synaptic plasticity was evaluated in hippocampal membranes by western blot. AA rats showed impaired exploration, motor performance, mild cognitive impairment and mismatch novelty responses compared to sham controls but less pronounced that naturally aged rats. AMPA GluA1/GluA2 ratio, PSD-95 and gephyrin were mildly decreased in D-Gal and naturally aging rats while monoaminergic markers were differently altered in D-Gal vs. natural aging. Altogether this suggests that aging-like pathology observed in this model does not fully reproduce the physiological responses to aging.
ISSN:0065-1400
1689-0035