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Barbelivien A, Durieux L, Seys E, Majchrzak M. Intermittent working memory training during adulthood protects against age-related long-term spatial reference memory decline in rats. GeroScience 2024; 46:2223-2237. [PMID: 37910304 PMCID: PMC10828346 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00993-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Engagement in cognitive activity in adulthood is one of the factors that enable successful cognitive aging, both in humans and rodents. However, some studies emphasize that the beneficial effect on cognition of such an activity may reflect carry over from one test situation to another, including memory for procedural aspects of the behavioral tasks, and thus question whether this effect can be limited to the trained cognitive domain or whether it can be transferred to an untrained ones. In the current study, we assessed whether adulthood intermittent working memory training has beneficial effect on long-term memory of aged rats using two very different test situations. To this aim, rats trained in a delayed non-matching to position task in operant box at 3 and 15 months of age were tested in a place learning task in water maze when they were 24 months. The two tasks differ with regard to the cognitive domain but also in their spatial ability requirement and the nature of the reinforcer used. During the memory tests, accuracy of the platform search indicated age-related impairment only in the aged-untrained group. Thus, intermittent training during adult life in a task involving working memory protects aged animals from the deleterious effects of aging on spatial reference memory. This result highlights the long-term beneficial effects of training on a working memory task on an untrained cognitive domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Barbelivien
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, Faculté de Psychologie, Université de Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France.
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS, GDR Mémoire, 67000, Strasbourg, France.
| | - Laura Durieux
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, Faculté de Psychologie, Université de Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS, GDR Mémoire, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Eliabel Seys
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, Faculté de Psychologie, Université de Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS, GDR Mémoire, 67000, Strasbourg, France
| | - Monique Majchrzak
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, Faculté de Psychologie, Université de Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives Et Adaptatives, UMR 7364, CNRS, GDR Mémoire, 67000, Strasbourg, France
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McQuail JA, Dunn AR, Stern Y, Barnes CA, Kempermann G, Rapp PR, Kaczorowski CC, Foster TC. Cognitive Reserve in Model Systems for Mechanistic Discovery: The Importance of Longitudinal Studies. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 12:607685. [PMID: 33551788 PMCID: PMC7859530 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.607685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The goal of this review article is to provide a resource for longitudinal studies, using animal models, directed at understanding and modifying the relationship between cognition and brain structure and function throughout life. We propose that forthcoming longitudinal studies will build upon a wealth of knowledge gleaned from prior cross-sectional designs to identify early predictors of variability in cognitive function during aging, and characterize fundamental neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the vulnerability to, and the trajectory of, cognitive decline. Finally, we present examples of biological measures that may differentiate mechanisms of the cognitive reserve at the molecular, cellular, and network level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A McQuail
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Amy R Dunn
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
| | - Yaakov Stern
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Gerd Kempermann
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HZ), Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter R Rapp
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurocognitive Aging Section, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | | | - Thomas C Foster
- Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
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Mulder CK, Reckman GAR, Gerkema MP, Van der Zee EA. Time-place learning over a lifetime: absence of memory loss in trained old mice. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015; 22:278-88. [PMID: 25903452 PMCID: PMC4408771 DOI: 10.1101/lm.037440.114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2014] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Time–place learning (TPL) offers the possibility to study the functional interaction between cognition and the circadian system with aging. With TPL, animals link biological significant events with the location and the time of day. This what–where–when type of memory provides animals with an experience-based daily schedule. Mice were tested for TPL five times throughout their lifespan and showed (re)learning from below chance level at the age of 4, 7, 12, and 18 mo. In contrast, at the age of 22 mo these mice showed preservation of TPL memory (absence of memory loss), together with deficiencies in the ability to update time-of-day information. Conversely, the majority of untrained (naïve) mice at 17 mo of age were unable to acquire TPL, indicating that training had delayed TPL deficiencies in the mice trained over lifespan. Two out of seven naïve mice, however, compensated for correct performance loss by adapting an alternative learning strategy that is independent of the age-deteriorating circadian system and presumably less cognitively demanding. Together, these data show the age-sensitivity of TPL, and the positive effects of repeated training over a lifetime. In addition, these data shed new light on aging-related loss of behavioral flexibility to update time-of-day information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cornelis K Mulder
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands Department of Chronobiology, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gerlof A R Reckman
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Menno P Gerkema
- Department of Chronobiology, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Eddy A Van der Zee
- Department of Molecular Neurobiology, University of Groningen, 9747 AG Groningen, The Netherlands
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Catalpol Induces Neuroprotection and Prevents Memory Dysfunction through the Cholinergic System and BDNF. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2013; 2013:134852. [PMID: 24194776 PMCID: PMC3782139 DOI: 10.1155/2013/134852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2013] [Revised: 06/19/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
To investigate the role and mechanism of catalpol on neuroprotective effects and memory enhancing effects simultaneously, neuroprotective effects of catalpol were assessed by neurological deficits score, TTC staining, and cerebral blood flow detecting. Morris water maze was employed to investigate its effects on learning and memory and then clarify its possible mechanisms relating the central cholinergic system and BDNF. Edaravone and oxiracetam were used for positive control drugs based on its different action. Results showed that catalpol and edaravone significantly facilitated neurological function recovery, reduced infarction volume, and increased cerebral blood flow in stroke mice. Catalpol and oxiracetam decreased the escape latency significantly and increased the numbers of crossing platform obviously. The levels of ACh, ChAT, and BDNF in catalpol group were increased in a dose-dependent manner, and AChE declined with a U-shaped dose-response curve. Moreover, the levels of muscarinic AChR subtypes M1 and M2 in hippocampus were considerably raised by catalpol. These results demonstrated that catalpol may be useful for neuroprotection and memory enhancement, and the mechanism may be related to the central cholinergic system.
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Klinkenberg I, Blokland A. A comparison of scopolamine and biperiden as a rodent model for cholinergic cognitive impairment. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2011; 215:549-66. [PMID: 21336581 PMCID: PMC3090581 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-011-2171-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2010] [Accepted: 01/09/2011] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The nonselective muscarinic antagonist scopolamine hydrobromide (SCOP) is employed as the gold standard for inducing memory impairments in healthy humans and animals. However, its use remains controversial due to the wide spectrum of behavioral effects of this drug. OBJECTIVE The present study investigated whether biperiden (BIP), a muscarinic m1 receptor antagonist, is to be preferred over SCOP as a pharmacological model for cholinergic memory deficits in rats. This was done by comparing the effects of SCOP and BIP using a battery of operant tasks: fixed ratio (FR5) and progressive ratio (PR10) schedules of reinforcement, an attention paradigm and delayed nonmatching to position task. RESULTS SCOP induced diffuse behavioral disruption, which included sensorimotor responding (FR5, 0.3 and 1 mg/kg), food motivation (PR10, 1 mg/kg), attention (0.3 mg/kg, independent of stimulus duration), and short-term memory (delayed nonmatching to position (DNMTP), 0.1 and 0.3 mg/kg, delay-dependent but also impairment at the zero second delay). BIP induced relatively more selective deficits, as it slowed sensorimotor responding (FR5, 10 mg/kg) and disrupted short-term memory (DNMTP, 3 mg/kg, delay-dependent but no impairment at the zero second delay). BIP had no effect on food motivation (PR10) or attention. CONCLUSION Muscarinic m1 antagonists should be considered an interesting alternative for SCOP as a pharmacological model for cholinergic mnemonic deficits in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inge Klinkenberg
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, European Graduate School of Neuroscience (EURON), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
| | - Arjan Blokland
- Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, European Graduate School of Neuroscience (EURON), Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands
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Niewiadomska G, Baksalerska-Pazera M, Riedel G. The septo-hippocampal system, learning and recovery of function. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2009; 33:791-805. [PMID: 19389457 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2009.03.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2009] [Accepted: 03/30/2009] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
We understand this review as an attempt to summarize recent advances in the understanding of cholinergic function in cognition. Such a role has been highlighted in the 1970s by the discovery that dementia patients have greatly reduced cholinergic activity in cortex and hippocampus. A brief anatomical description of the major cholinergic pathways focuses on the basal forebrain and its projections to cortex and hippocampus. From this distinction, compelling evidence suggests that the basal forebrain --> cortex projection regulates the excitability of principal cortical neurons and is thereby critically involved in attention, stimulus detection and memory function, although the biological conditions for these functions are still debated. Similar uncertainties remain for the septo-hippocampal cholinergic system. Although initial lesions of the septum caused memory deficits reminiscent of hippocampal ablations, recent and more refined neurotoxic lesion studies which spared non-cholinergic cells of the basal forebrain failed to confirm these memory impairments in experimental animals despite a near total loss of cholinergic labeling. Yet, a decline in cholinergic markers in aging and dementia still stands as the most central piece of evidence for a link between the cholinergic system and cognition and appear to provide valuable targets for therapeutic approaches.
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Shi L, Adams MM, Long A, Carter CC, Bennett C, Sonntag WE, Nicolle MM, Robbins M, D'Agostino R, Brunso-Bechtold JK. Spatial Learning and Memory Deficits after Whole-Brain Irradiation are Associated with Changes in NMDA Receptor Subunits in the Hippocampus. Radiat Res 2006; 166:892-9. [PMID: 17149974 DOI: 10.1667/rr0588.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 139] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2006] [Accepted: 08/04/2006] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Whole-brain irradiation is used for the treatment of brain tumors, but can it also induce neural changes, with progressive dementia occurring in 20-50% of long-term survivors. The present study investigated whether 45 Gy of whole-brain irradiation delivered to 12-month-old Fischer 344 x Brown Norway rats as nine fractions over 4.5 weeks leads to impaired Morris water maze (MWM) performance 12 months later. Compared to sham-irradiated rats, the irradiated rats demonstrated impaired MWM performance. The relative levels of the NR1 and NR2A but not the NR2B subunits of the NMDA receptor were significantly higher in hippocampal CA1 of irradiated rats compared to control rats. No significant differences were detected for these NMDA subunits in CA3 or dentate gyrus. Further analysis of CA1 revealed that the relative levels of the GluR1 and GluR2 subunits of the AMPA receptor and synaptophysin were not altered by whole-brain irradiation. In summary, a clinically relevant regimen of fractionated whole-brain irradiation led to significant impairments in spatial learning and reference memory and alterations in the relative levels of subunits of the NMDA, but not the AMPA, receptors in hippocampal CA1. These findings suggest for the first time that radiation-induced cognitive impairments may be associated with alterations in glutamate receptor composition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Shi
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA.
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Niewiadomska G, Baksalerska-Pazera M, Gasiorowska A, Mietelska A. Nerve Growth Factor Differentially Affects Spatial and Recognition Memory in Aged Rats. Neurochem Res 2006; 31:1481-90. [PMID: 17111224 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-006-9209-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2006] [Accepted: 10/20/2006] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
In rats, object discrimination depends on the integrity of the cholinergic system, thus it could be expected that nerve growth factor (NGF) can improve the behavior in aged subjects. The interactive effect of age and cholinergic improvement was assessed behaviorally in young and aged rats. Animals were injected by infusion of NGF into the lateral ventricles and they were tested in two behavioral tasks: an object-location and an object-recognition task. Spatial and recognition memory were assessed in an open field containing five different objects. Rats were submitted to six consecutive sessions. Both age-groups showed comparable habituation of exploratory response in Session 1-4. Discrimination index (DI) was calculated to assess responses to spatial change in Session 5 and object change in Session 6. Control young and aged rats were able to discriminate between familiar and novel object, however DI was lower in aged rats. Treatment with NGF induced decline of object discrimination in both age-groups. Different results were obtained in spatial displacement test. NGF was able to improve spatial memory in aged rats, but had no effect in young controls. These data confer on NGF potential role in improving spatial but not episodic memory in aged rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Niewiadomska
- Department of Neurophysiology, Nencki Institute for Experimental Biology, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland.
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van der Staay FJ. Two months makes a difference in spatial orientation learning in very old FBNF1 rats. Physiol Behav 2006; 87:659-65. [PMID: 16530234 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2005.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2005] [Revised: 12/19/2005] [Accepted: 12/20/2005] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Age-related changes in cognitive performance may be more pronounced in the period near or exceeding the median life span. Therefore, we compared the acquisition of a Morris water escape task by two groups of very old Fischer344 x Brown Norway hybrid rats. The mean age difference between the two groups of rats (a 33- to 34-month-old group versus a 35- to 36-month-old group) was about 2 months. Both groups of rats initially had the same level of performance, but then the younger group learned to escape onto the submerged platform faster, swimming a shorter distance, than the older group. By the fifth acquisition session, the younger rats needed only half the time and swam a shorter distance before they reached the platform than the older rats. These differences in learning were not due to different locomotor abilities as both groups had a similar swimming speed. These results suggest that age-related changes in cognitive performance are indeed more pronounced in the period around the median life span. We also discussed different set-ups to perform cross-sectional age-comparison studies. If there are not sufficient animals from one batch, it may be worthwhile to combine animals from different batches per age group, provided that breeding, rearing, housing, and testing conditions are highly standardized.
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