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Gajdošová L, Katrenčíková B, Borbélyová V, Muchová J. The Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Exercise on Locomotor Activity, Exploratory Activity, and Anxiety-Like Behavior in Adult and Aged Rats. Physiol Res 2024; 73:461-480. [PMID: 39012176 PMCID: PMC11299774 DOI: 10.33549/physiolres.935245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Aging is an inevitable and complex biological process that is associated with a gradual decline in physiological functions and a higher disease susceptibility. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid, play a crucial role in maintaining brain health and their deficiency is linked to age-related cognitive decline. Combining omega-3-rich diets with exercise may enhance cognitive function more effectively, as both share overlapping neurobiological and physiological effects. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of exercise and omega-3 fatty acid (FA) supplementation in two different doses (160 mg/kg and 320 mg/kg) on anxiety-like behavior and cognitive abilities in both adult and aged rats. Male Wistar rats (4-5- and 23-24-month-old) were randomly divided into seven groups: 3-week control supplemented with placebo without exercise, low-dose omega-3 FAs, high-dose omega-3 FAs, 7-week control supplemented with placebo without exercise, exercise-only, low-dose omega-3 FAs with exercise, and high-dose omega-3 FAs with exercise. The administered oil contained omega-3 FAs with DHA:EPA in a ratio of 1.5:1. Our results indicate that aging negatively impacts the locomotor and exploratory activity of rats. In adult rats, a low dose of omega-3 FAs reduces locomotor activity when combined with exercise while high dose of omega-3 FAs reduces anxiety-like behavior and improves recognition memory when combined with exercise. The combination of omega-3 FAs and exercise had varying impacts on behavior, suggesting a need for further research in this area to fully understand their therapeutic efficacy in the context of cognitive changes associated with aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Gajdošová
- Institute of Medical Chemistry, Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Sasinkova 2, 811 08 Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
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Kuo TB, Yang CC, Hung CT, Chen CH, Lan TH, Li JY. Behavioural consistency and hippocampal theta rhythm can reflect age-related anxiety during the behaviour test. Exp Gerontol 2022; 163:111808. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2022.111808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Blümel L, Brosda J, Bert B, Hamann M, Dietz GPH. Moderately aged OFA rats as a novel model for mild age-related alterations in learning and memory. Brain Cogn 2021; 154:105799. [PMID: 34543909 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2021] [Revised: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 09/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Aged rodents have been used as preclinical models of age-associated cognitive decline. Most of those models displayed substantial impairments in learning and memory. The initial, more subtle changes that precede more severe losses in cognitive abilities have not been well characterized. Here, we established a model detecting initial subtle cognitive changes by comparing the performance of moderately aged Oncins France Strain A Sprague Dawley rats with young rats in the Morris water maze (MWM) and the Open Field (OF) test. Both age groups improved their performance during the training period at a similar rate; however, the older rats performed worse in several parameters measured in the MWM. Our results suggest that already at the age of 18-20 months rats show changes in their approach to solve the spatial memory task while their ability to learn is not yet diminished. The disparate spatial information processing of the moderately aged rats provides a novel animal model for early age-related cognitive alterations that could be useful to test the effect of early intervention strategies. Moreover, our results suggest that the sensitivity of cognitive tests in the elderly could be substantially enhanced if they assess both the improvement after several trials, and the strategy used to solve a certain task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linda Blümel
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
| | - Jan Brosda
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
| | - Bettina Bert
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
| | - Melanie Hamann
- Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany.
| | - Gunnar P H Dietz
- Department of Global Medical Affairs, Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany.
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Age-Related Individual Behavioural Characteristics of Adult Wistar Rats. Animals (Basel) 2021; 11:ani11082282. [PMID: 34438740 PMCID: PMC8388463 DOI: 10.3390/ani11082282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2021] [Revised: 07/21/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Rats are considered adults from 2 to 5 months. During this period, they are used for experimentation in physiology and pharmacology. Adult rats, depending on their age, can be in a different physiological state, which can influence the results of experiments carried out on them. Despite this, age-related changes in adult rats have not yet been examined. Our results showed that as male and female rats progressed from 2 to 5 months of age there was a decrease in the level of motor and exploratory activities, and an increase in the level of anxiety-like behaviour. Age-related changes were dependent upon initial individual characteristics of behaviour. For example, animals that demonstrated high motor activity at 2 months become significantly less active by 5 months, and animals that showed a low level of anxiety at 2 months become more anxious by 5 months. Low-activity and high-anxiety rats did not show any significant age-related changes from 2 to 5 months of age. The results of this work should be taken into account when choosing the age of rats for conducting behavioural experiments. Abstract The aim of this work was to study age-related changes in the behaviour of adult Wistar rats using the open field (OF) and elevated plus maze (EPM) tests. Behavioural changes related to motor activity and anxiety were of particular interest. Results showed that as male and female rats progressed from 2 to 5 months of age, there was a decrease in the level of motor and exploratory activities and an increase in their level of anxiety. Age-related changes were dependent upon initial individual characteristics of behaviour. For example, animals that demonstrated high motor activity at 2 months become significantly less active by 5 months, and animals that showed a low level of anxiety at 2 months become more anxious by 5 months. Low-activity and high-anxiety rats did not show any significant age-related changes in OF and EPM tests from 2 to 5 months of age, except for a decrease in the number of rearings in the EPM. Thus, the behaviour of the same adult rat at 2 and 5 months of age is significantly different, which may lead to differences in the experimental results of physiological and pharmacological studies using adult animals of different ages.
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Rao G, Lee H, Gallagher M, Knierim JJ. Decreased investigatory head scanning during exploration in learning-impaired, aged rats. Neurobiol Aging 2021; 98:1-9. [PMID: 33221571 PMCID: PMC8639103 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 08/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
"Head scanning" is an investigatory behavior that has been linked to spatial exploration and the one-trial formation or strengthening of place cells in the hippocampus. Previous studies have demonstrated that a subset of aged rats with normal spatial learning performance show head scanning rates during a novel, local-global cue-mismatch manipulation that are similar to those of young rats. However, these aged rats demonstrated different patterns of expression of neural activity markers in brain regions associated with spatial learning, perhaps suggesting neural mechanisms that compensate for age-related brain changes. These prior studies did not investigate the head scanning properties of aged rats that had spatial learning impairments. The present study analyzed head scanning behavior in young, aged-unimpaired, and aged-impaired Long Evans rats. Aged-impaired rats performed the head scan behavior at a lower rate than the young rats. These results suggest that decreased attention to spatial landmarks may be a contributing factor to the spatial learning deficits shown by the aged-impaired rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geeta Rao
- Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
| | - Heekyung Lee
- Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Michela Gallagher
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - James J Knierim
- Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Li JY, Kuo TBJ, Yang CCH. Behaviour consistency is a sensitive tool for distinguishing the effects of aging on physical activity. Behav Brain Res 2020; 389:112619. [PMID: 32348871 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
We attempted to establish a novel parameter of behaviour consistency to help determine the effect of age on physical activity. Using the speed of movement to quantify behaviour might not be sufficient to determine this effect. The slowing of motor activities that occurs with aging is related to the decline of the aging brain. Previous studies have found different running-related hippocampal theta rhythm responses in the aging and exercise model. Therefore, we hypothesized that a familiarity with the environment and physical strength affect behavioural consistency in rats during running exercises. For this study, we used a treadmill and 30-minute running test at constant speeds and compared changes in the triaxial accelerometer and hippocampal theta rhythm between adult and middle-aged rats. No significant differences in RR intervals, mean cross-correlations (MCCs), or the proportion of good correlation coefficient (PGCC) were observed between adult and middle-aged rats in awake states before running on the treadmill. The root mean square (RMS) of the triaxial acceleration vectors in middle-aged rats was higher than that in adult rats. In the treadmill running tests, the RMS observed in middle-aged rats was significantly lower than that observed in adult rats. MCC and PGCC, which indicate movement consistencies, were significantly higher in middle-aged rats than they were in adult rats during the entire running test. However, only the RMS of the adult rats showed a negative correlation with exercise duration. Both MCC and PGCC were positively correlated with exercise duration. By contrast, a similar phenomenon was not found in the changes or differences in hippocampal theta rhythms between these two groups. Therefore, we consider that the MCC and PGCC could distinguish age-related movement differences and indicate coordination/adaptation during exercise. Changes in physical activity and alterations in the hippocampal theta rhythm were not different between the groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Yi Li
- Department of Health and Leisure Management, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan; Sleep Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Terry B J Kuo
- Sleep Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Digital Medicine Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
| | - Cheryl C H Yang
- Sleep Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Education and Research, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
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Hullinger R, Burger C. Learning impairments identified early in life are predictive of future impairments associated with aging. Behav Brain Res 2015; 294:224-33. [PMID: 26283528 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2015] [Revised: 08/01/2015] [Accepted: 08/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The Morris water maze (MWM) behavioral paradigm is commonly used to measure spatial learning and memory in rodents. It is widely accepted that performance in the MWM declines with age. However, young rats ubiquitously perform very well on established versions of the water maze, suggesting that more challenging tasks may be required to reveal subtle differences in young animals. Therefore, we have used a one-day water maze and novel object recognition to test whether more sensitive paradigms of memory in young animals could identify subtle cognitive impairments early in life that might become accentuated later with senescence. We have found that these two tasks reliably separate young rats into inferior and superior learners, are highly correlated, and that performance on these tasks early in life is predictive of performance at 12 months of age. Furthermore, we have found that repeated training in this task selectively improves the performance of inferior learners, suggesting that behavioral training from an early age may provide a buffer against age-related cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rikki Hullinger
- Neuroscience Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
| | - Corinna Burger
- Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Medical Sciences Center, 1300 University Ave, Room 73 Bardeen, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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Stefanova NA, Fursova AZ, Sarsenbaev KN, Kolosova NG. Effects of Cistanche deserticola on behavior and signs of cataract and retinopathy in senescence-accelerated OXYS rats. JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2011; 138:624-32. [PMID: 22020276 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2011] [Revised: 09/23/2011] [Accepted: 10/10/2011] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Cistanche deserticola (СD) has been traditionally used in the Chinese medicine as a tonic, vasodilator and neuroprotective agent. AIM OF THE STUDY To investigate the effect of CD on the age-related behavior decline and cataract and retinopathy development in senescent accelerated OXYS rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS OXYS and Wistar (control) rats were supplemented with 15 mg CD on kg of body weight during 2 months from the age of 12 months. Behavioral responses of animals were assessed in the elevated plus-maze (EPM), open field (OF) and in a Morris water maze (MWM). Before and after CD treatment OXYS rats were examined by an ophthalmologist. RESULTS 14-month-old OXYS rats had demonstrated considerably reduced activities in OF, increased anxiety in EPM, and manifestly impaired learning abilities in the MWM as compared to Wistar rats. Supplementation of CD had no effect on motor and exploratory activity of Wistar and OXYS rats in the OF, but it reduced their anxiety in the EPM compared to age-matched controls. CD significantly improved visual ability of the rats, reducing the severity of the developed signs of retinopathy and cataract while having no impact on OXYS rats' spatial memory in the MWM. CD-treated Wistar rats exhibited slower learning ability in the MWM task comparison to the control group. The effect of CD on the learning ability in OXYS and Wistar rats may be associated with differences in their redox homeostasis. CONCLUSION All in all, the findings suggest that CD improves the age-related behavioral decline, which makes it an attractive candidate for treatment of various neurodegenerative disorders. Primarily it demonstrated its ability to slow development and to reduce to some extent severity of pathological manifestations of cataract and retinopathy in OXYS rats, which makes it an attractive candidate for treatment of age-related eye diseases too.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia A Stefanova
- Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, Acad. Lavrentjev 10, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
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Attention and memory in aged rats: Impact of lifelong environmental enrichment. Neurobiol Aging 2011; 32:718-36. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2008] [Revised: 02/02/2009] [Accepted: 03/24/2009] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Schulz D, Mirrione MM, Henn FA. Cognitive aspects of congenital learned helplessness and its reversal by the monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitor deprenyl. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2010; 93:291-301. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2009.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2009] [Revised: 10/30/2009] [Accepted: 11/15/2009] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Xu K, Sun X, Eroku BO, Tsipis CP, Puchowicz MA, LaManna JC. Diet-induced ketosis improves cognitive performance in aged rats. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2010; 662:71-5. [PMID: 20204773 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4419-1241-1_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Aging is associated with increased susceptibility to hypoxic/ischemic insult and declines in behavioral function which may be due to attenuated adaptive/defense responses. We investigated if diet-induced ketosis would improve behavioral performance in the aged rats. Fischer 344 rats (3- and 22-month-old) were fed standard (STD) or ketogenic (KG) diet for 3 weeks and then exposed to hypobaric hypoxia. Cognitive function was measured using the T-maze and object recognition tests. Motor function was measured using the inclined-screen test. Results showed that KG diet significantly increased blood ketone levels in both young and old rats. In the aged rats, the KG diet improved cognitive performance under normoxic and hypoxic conditions; while motor performance remained unchanged. Capillary density and HIF-1alpha levels were elevated in the aged ketotic group independent of hypoxic challenge. These data suggest that diet-induced ketosis may be beneficial in the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kui Xu
- Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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Liu L, Orozco IJ, Planel E, Wen Y, Bretteville A, Krishnamurthy P, Wang L, Herman M, Figueroa H, Yu WH, Arancio O, Duff K. A transgenic rat that develops Alzheimer's disease-like amyloid pathology, deficits in synaptic plasticity and cognitive impairment. Neurobiol Dis 2008; 31:46-57. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2008.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2008] [Revised: 03/07/2008] [Accepted: 03/15/2008] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
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