Combined damage to entorhinal cortex and cholinergic basal forebrain neurons, two early neurodegenerative features accompanying Alzheimer's disease: effects on locomotor activity and memory functions in rats

The basal forebrain cholinergic system as target for cell replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease

In recent years there has been a renewed interest in the basal forebrain cholinergic system as a target for the treatment of cognitive impairments in patients with Parkinson's disease, due in part to the need to explore novel approaches to treat the cognitive symptoms of the disease and in part to the development of more refined imaging tools that have made it possible to monitor the progressive changes in the structure and function of the basal forebrain system as they evolve over time. In parallel, emerging technologies allowing the derivation of authentic basal forebrain cholinergic neurons from human pluripotent stem cells are providing new powerful tools for the exploration of cholinergic neuron replacement in animal models of Parkinson's disease-like cognitive decline. In this review, we discuss the rationale for cholinergic cell replacement as a potential therapeutic strategy in Parkinson's disease and how this approach can be explored in rodent models of Parkinson's disease-like cognitive decline, building on insights gained from the extensive animal experimental work that was performed in rodent and primate models in the 1980s and 90s. Although therapies targeting the cholinergic system have so far been focused mainly on patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease with dementia may be a more relevant condition. In Parkinson's disease with dementia, the basal forebrain system undergoes progressive degeneration and the magnitude of cholinergic cell loss has been shown to correlate with the level of cognitive impairment. Thus, cell therapy aimed to replace the lost basal forebrain cholinergic neurons represents an interesting strategy to combat some of the major cognitive impairments in patients with Parkinson's disease dementia.

A role of frontal association cortex in long-term object recognition memory of objects with complex features in rats

Perirhinal cortex is a brain area that has been considered crucial for the object recognition memory (ORM). However, with the use of an ORM enhancer named RGS14414 as gain-in-function tool, we show here that frontal association cortex and not the Perirhinal cortex is essential for the ORM of objects with complex features that consisted of detailed drawing on the object surface (complex ORM). An expression of RGS14414, in rat brain frontal association cortex, induced the formation of long-term complex ORM, whereas the expression of the same memory enhancer in Perirhinal cortex failed to produce this effect. Instead, RGS14414 expression in Perirhinal cortex caused the formation of ORM of objects with simple features that consisted of the shape of object (simple ORM). Further, a selective elimination of frontal association cortex neurons by treatment with an immunotoxin Ox7-SAP completely abrogated the formation of complex ORM. Thus, our results suggest that frontal association cortex plays a key role in processing of a high-order recognition memory information in brain.

Brain areas interconnected to ventral pathway circuits are independently able to induce enhancement in object recognition memory and cause reversal in object recognition memory deficit

AIMS

Ventral pathway circuits are constituted by the interconnected brain areas that are distributed throughout the brain. These brain circuits are primarily involved in processing of object related information in brain. However, their role in object recognition memory (ORM) enhancement remains unknown. Here, we have studied on the implication of these circuits in ORM enhancement and in reversal of ORM deficit in aging.

METHODS

The brain areas interconnected to ventral pathway circuits in rat brain were activated by an expression of a protein called regulator of G-protein signaling 14 of 414 amino acids (RGS14414). RGS14414 is an ORM enhancer and therefore used here as a gain-in-function tool. ORM test and immunohistochemistry, lesions, neuronal arborization, and knockdown studies were performed to uncover the novel function of ventral pathway circuits.

RESULTS

An activation of each of the brain areas interconnected to ventral pathway circuits individually induced enhancement in ORM; however, same treatment in brain areas not interconnected to ventral pathway circuits produced no effect. Further study in perirhinal cortex (PRh), area V2 of visual cortex and frontal cortex (FrC), which are brain areas that have been shown to be involved in ORM and are interconnected to ventral pathway circuits, revealed that ORM enhancement seen after the activation of any one of the three brain areas was unaffected by the lesions in other two brain areas either individually in each area or even concurrently in both areas. This ORM enhancement in all three brain areas was associated to increase in structural plasticity of pyramidal neurons where more than 2-fold higher dendritic spines were observed. Additionally, we found that an activation of either PRh, area V2, or FrC not only was adequate but also was sufficient for the reversal of ORM deficit in aging rats, and the blockade of RGS14414 activity led to loss in increase in dendritic spine density and failure in reversal of ORM deficit.

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that brain areas interconnected to ventral pathway circuits facilitate ORM enhancement by an increase in synaptic connectivity between the local brain area circuits and the passing by ventral pathway circuits and an upregulation in activity of ventral pathway circuits. In addition, the finding of the reversal of ORM deficit through activation of an interconnected brain area might serve as a platform for developing not only therapy against memory deficits but also strategies for other brain diseases in which neuronal circuits are compromised.

Bisphenol-A Neurotoxic Effects on Basal Forebrain Cholinergic Neurons In Vitro and In Vivo

The widely used plasticizer bisphenol-A (BPA) is well-known for producing neurodegeneration and cognitive disorders, following acute and long-term exposure. Although some of the BPA actions involved in these effects have been unraveled, they are still incompletely known. Basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCN) regulate memory and learning processes and their selective loss, as observed in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, leads to cognitive decline. In order to study the BPA neurotoxic effects on BFCN and the mechanisms through which they are induced, 60-day old Wistar rats were used, and a neuroblastoma cholinergic cell line from the basal forebrain (SN56) was used as a basal forebrain cholinergic neuron model. Acute treatment of rats with BPA (40 µg/kg) induced a more pronounced basal forebrain cholinergic neuronal loss. Exposure to BPA, following 1- or 14-days, produced postsynaptic-density-protein-95 (PSD95), synaptophysin, spinophilin, and N-methyl-D-aspartate-receptor-subunit-1 (NMDAR1) synaptic proteins downregulation, an increase in glutamate content through an increase in glutaminase activity, a downregulation in the vesicular-glutamate-transporter-2 (VGLUT2) and in the WNT/β-Catenin pathway, and cell death in SN56 cells. These toxic effects observed in SN56 cells were mediated by overexpression of histone-deacetylase-2 (HDAC2). These results may help to explain the synaptic plasticity, cognitive dysfunction, and neurodegeneration induced by the plasticizer BPA, which could contribute to their prevention.

Cadmium-promoted thyroid hormones disruption mediates ROS, inflammation, Aβ and Tau proteins production, gliosis, spongiosis and neurodegeneration in rat basal forebrain

Cadmium (Cd) produces cognition decline following single and repeated treatment, although the complete mechanisms are still unrevealed. Basal forebrain (BF) cholinergic neurons innervate the cortex and hippocampus, regulating cognition. Cd single and repeated exposure induced BF cholinergic neuronal loss, partly through thyroid hormones (THs) disruption, which may cause the cognition decline observed following Cd exposure. However, the mechanisms through which THs disruption mediate this effect remain unknown. To research the possible mechanisms through which Cd-induced THs deficiency may mediate BF neurodegeneration, Wistar male rats were treated with Cd for 1- (1 mg/kg) or 28-days (0.1 mg/kg) with or without triiodothyronine (T3, 40 μg/kg/day). Cd exposure promoted neurodegeneration, spongiosis, gliosis and several mechanisms related to these alterations (increased H₂0₂, malondialdehyde, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, BACE1, Aβ and phosphorylated-Tau levels, and decreased phosphorylated-AKT and phosphorylated-GSK-3β levels). T3 supplementation partially reversed the effects observed. Our results show that Cd induces several mechanisms that may be responsible for the neurodegeneration, spongiosis and gliosis observed in the rats' BF, which are partially mediated by a reduction in THs levels. These data may help to explain the mechanisms through which Cd induces BF neurodegeneration, possibly leading to the cognitive decline observed, providing new therapeutic tools to prevent and treat these damages.

Standardization and Ameliorative effect of Kalyanaka ghrita in β-amyloid induced memory impairment in wistar rats

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Kalyanaka ghrita (KG) is an Ayurvedic formulation traditionally used in the treatment of Daurbalya (debility) and Smritidaurbalya (impairment of intellectual activities). Clinical studies have reported the effect of KG in the treatment of Manasmandata or Buddhimandyata which is associated with impaired learning, social adjustment and maturation.

AIM OF THE STUDY

The present study aims to standardization of KG and validation of its use in experimental models of neurodegeneration.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

KG was Standardized for biomarkers curcumin, gallic acid, tannic acid, chebulagic acid, and berberine. In male wistar rats, neurodegeneration was induced by administration of intracerebroventricular Amyloid β (Aβ_1-42). The effect of KG (oral and intranasal treatment) was evaluated through behavioral parameters such as Morris water maze, social recognition test, novel object recognition, locomotor activity, and molecular parameters, brain acetylcholinesterase, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress markers, and antioxidants. Brain histopathology was performed for studying the architecture of the brain and plaque formation.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A novel HPLC method has been developed for the standardization of KG. Treatment with KG significantly improved cognition and memory and increased brain BDNF and antioxidant status in Aβ_1-42 induced rats. It also reduced brain acetylcholinesterase, oxidative stress, and inflammatory cytokines and prevented neuronal damage. There were more marked effects with intra-nasal administration compared to oral treatment.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that KG has neuroprotective potential and along with its nootropic property could be a promising therapy for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease.

Abnormal innate and learned behavior induced by neuron-microglia miscommunication is related to CA3 reconfiguration

Neuron-microglia communication through the Cx3cr1-Cx3cl1 axis is essential for the development and refinement of neural circuits, which determine their function into adulthood. In the present work we set out to extend the behavioral characterization of Cx3cr1^-/- mice evaluating innate behaviors and spatial navigation, both dependent on hippocampal function. Our results show that Cx3cr1-deficient mice, which show some changes in microglial and synaptic terminals morphology and density, exhibit alterations in activities of daily living and in the rapid encoding of novel spatial information that, nonetheless, improves with training. A neural substrate for these cognitive deficiencies was found in the form of synaptic dysfunction in the CA3 region of the hippocampus, with a marked impact on the mossy fiber (MF) pathway. A network analysis of the CA3 microcircuit reveals the effect of these synaptic alterations on the functional connectivity among CA3 neurons with diminished strength and topological reorganization in Cx3cr1-deficient mice. Neonatal population activity of the CA3 region in Cx3cr1-deficient mice shows a marked reorganization around the giant depolarizing potentials, the first form of network-driven activity of the hippocampus, suggesting that alterations found in adult subjects arise early on in postnatal development, a critical period of microglia-dependent neural circuit refinement. Our results show that interruption of the Cx3cr1-Cx3cl1/neuron-microglia axis leads to changes in CA3 configuration that affect innate and learned behaviors.

Protective Effects of a synthetic glycosaminoglycan mimetic (OTR4132) in a rat immunotoxic lesion model of septohippocampal cholinergic degeneration

Using a partial hippocampal cholinergic denervation model, we assessed the effects of the RGTA^® named OTR4132, a synthetic heparan-mimetic biopolymer with neuroprotective/neurotrophic properties. Long-Evans male rats were injected with the cholinergic immunotoxin 192 IgG-saporin into the medial septum/diagonal band of Broca (0.37 µg); vehicle injections served as controls. Immediately after surgery, OTR4132 was injected into the lateral ventricles (0.25 µg/5 µl/rat) or intramuscularly (1.5 mg/kg). To determine whether OTR4132 reached the lesion site, some rats received intracerebroventricular (ICV) or intramuscular (I.M.) injections of fluorescent OTR4132. Rats were sacrificed at 4, 10, 20, or 60 days post-lesion (DPL). Fluorescein-labeled OTR4132 injected ICV or I.M. was found in the lesion from 4 to 20 DPL. Rats with partial hippocampal cholinergic denervation showed decreases in hippocampal acetylcholinesterase reaction products and in choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons in the medial septum. These lesions were the largest at 10 DPL and then remained stable until 60 DPL. Both hippocampal acetylcholinesterase reaction products and choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons in the medial septum effects were significantly attenuated in OTR4132-treated rats. These effects were not related to competition between OTR4132 and 192 IgG-saporin for the neurotrophin receptor P75 (p75^NTR), as OTR4132 treatment did not alter the internalization of Cy3-labelled 192 IgG. OTR4132 was more efficient at reducing the acetylcholinesterase reaction products and choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons than a comparable heparin dose used as a comparator. Using the slice superfusion technique, we found that the lesion-induced decrease in muscarinic autoreceptor sensitivity was abolished by intramuscular OTR4132. After partial cholinergic damage, OTR4132 was able to concentrate at the brain lesion site possibly due to the disruption of the blood-brain barrier and to exert structural and functional effects that hold promises for neuroprotection/neurotrophism.

Cadmium-induced neurotoxic effects on rat basal forebrain cholinergic system through thyroid hormones disruption

Cadmium (Cd) single and repeated exposure produces cognitive dysfunctions. Basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCN) regulate cognitive functions. BFCN loss or cholinergic neurotransmission dysfunction leads to cognitive disabilities. Thyroid hormones (THs) maintain BFCN viability and functions, and Cd disrupts their levels. However, Cd-induced BFCN damages and THs disruption involvement was not studied. To research this we treated male Wistar rats intraperitoneally with Cd once (1 mg/kg) or repetitively for 28 days (0.1 mg/kg) with/without triiodothyronine (T3, 40 µg/kg/day). Cd increased thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH) and decreased T3 and tetraiodothyronine (T4). Cd altered cholinergic transmission and induced a more pronounced neurodegeneration on BFCN, mediated partially by THs reduction. Additionally, Cd antagonized muscarinic 1 receptor (M1R), overexpressed acetylcholinesterase S variant (AChE-S), downregulated AChE-R, M2R, M3R and M4R, and reduced AChE and choline acetyltransferase activities through THs disruption. These results may assist to discover cadmium mechanisms that induce cognitive disabilities, revealing a new possible therapeutic tool.

Reversal of Object Recognition Memory Deficit in Perirhinal Cortex-Lesioned Rats and Primates and in Rodent Models of Aging and Alzheimer's Diseases

The integrity of the perirhinal cortex (PRh) is essential for object recognition memory (ORM) function, and damage to this brain area in animals and humans induces irreversible ORM deficits. Here, we show that activation of area V2, a brain area interconnected with brain circuits of ventral stream and medial temporal lobe that sustain ORM, by expression of regulator of G-protein signaling 14 of 414 amino acids (RGS14₄₁₄) restored ORM in memory-deficient PRh-lesioned rats and nonhuman primates. Furthermore, this treatment was sufficient for full recovery of ORM in rodent models of aging and Alzheimer's disease, conditions thought to affect multiple brain areas. Thus, RGS14₄₁₄-mediated activation of area V2 has therapeutic relevance in the recovery of recognition memory, a type of memory that is primarily affected in patients or individuals with symptoms of memory dysfunction. These findings suggest that area V2 modulates the processing of memory-related information through activation of interconnected brain circuits formed by the participation of distinct brain areas.

Intranasal glyphosate-based herbicide administration alters the redox balance and the cholinergic system in the mouse brain

Pesticide exposure is associated with cognitive and psychomotor disorders. Glyphosate-based herbicides (GlyBH) are among the most used agrochemicals, and inhalation of GlyBH sprays may arise from frequent aerial pulverizations. Previously, we described that intranasal (IN) administration of GlyBH in mice decreases locomotor activity, increases anxiety, and impairs recognition memory. Then, the aim of the present study was to investigate the mechanisms involved in GlyBH neurotoxicity after IN administration. Adult male CF-1 mice were exposed to GlyBH IN administration (equivalent to 50 mg/kg/day of Gly acid, 3 days a week, during 4 weeks). Total thiol content and the activity of the enzymes catalase, acetylcholinesterase and transaminases were evaluated in different brain areas. In addition, markers of the cholinergic and the nigrostriatal pathways, as well as of astrocytes were evaluated by fluorescence microscopy in coronal brain sections. The brain areas chosen for analysis were those seen to be affected in our previous study. GlyBH IN administration impaired the redox balance of the brain and modified the activities of enzymes involved in cholinergic and glutamatergic pathways. Moreover, GlyBH treatment decreased the number of cholinergic neurons in the medial septum as well as the expression of the α7-acetylcholine receptor in the hippocampus. Also, the number of astrocytes increased in the anterior olfactory nucleus of the exposed mice. Taken together, these disturbances may contribute to the neurobehavioural impairments reported previously by us after IN GlyBH administration in mice.

RGS14414 treatment induces memory enhancement and rescues episodic memory deficits

Memory deficits affect a large proportion of the human population and are associated with aging and many neurologic, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric diseases. Treatment of this mental disorder has been disappointing because all potential candidates studied thus far have failed to produce consistent effects across various types of memory and have shown limited to no effects on memory deficits. Here, we show that the promotion of neuronal arborization through the expression of the regulator of G-protein signaling 14 of 414 amino acids (RGS14₄₁₄) not only induced robust enhancement of multiple types of memory but was also sufficient for the recovery of recognition, spatial, and temporal memory, which are kinds of episodic memory that are primarily affected in patients or individuals with memory dysfunction. We observed that a surge in neuronal arborization was mediated by up-regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling and that the deletion of BDNF abrogated both neuronal arborization activation and memory enhancement. The activation of BDNF-dependent neuronal arborization generated almost 2-fold increases in synapse numbers in dendrites of pyramidal neurons and in neurites of nonpyramidal neurons. This increase in synaptic connections might have evoked reorganization within neuronal circuits and eventually supported an increase in the activity of such circuits. Thus, in addition to showing the potential of RGS14₄₁₄ for rescuing memory deficits, our results suggest that a boost in circuit activity could facilitate memory enhancement and the reversal of memory deficits.-Masmudi-Martín, M., Navarro-Lobato, I., López-Aranda, M. F., Delgado, G., Martín-Montañez, E., Quiros-Ortega, M. E., Carretero-Rey, M., Narváez, L., Garcia-Garrido, M. F., Posadas, S., López-Téllez, J. F., Blanco, E., Jiménez-Recuerda, I., Granados-Durán, P., Paez-Rueda, J., López, J. C., Khan, Z. U. RGS14₄₁₄ treatment induces memory enhancement and rescues episodic memory deficits.

The protective effect of polysaccharide extracted from Portulaca oleracea L. against Pb-induced learning and memory impairments in rats

This paper studied the extraction of polysaccharide from Portulaca oleracea L. (POP) by hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation. Structural properties of the extracted polymers were determined. POP was composed of rhamnose, arabinose and galactose in ratios of 1: 2.34: 3.07 with a molecular weight of 1.55 × 10⁷ Da. The neuroprotective effect of POP on Pb-induced neuronal toxicity was then evaluated in vitro and in vivo test. Treatment with POP markedly increased the survival of PC12 cells and repressed the generation of reactive oxygen species following Pb exposure. In Morris water maze analysis, Pb exposure led to an increase in escape latency and a decrease in platform crossing times of rats in the probe test, which could be attenuated by POP treatment. Additionally, the Pb-induced loss of dendritic spine was recovered after feeding rats with POP at 600 mg/kg/day. These results indicated that Pb-induced cognitive impairments could be inhibited by POP.

A second wind for the cholinergic system in Alzheimer's therapy

Notwithstanding tremendous research efforts, the cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains elusive and there is no curative treatment. The cholinergic hypothesis presented 35 years ago was the first major evidence-based hypothesis on the etiology of AD. It proposed that the depletion of brain acetylcholine was a primary cause of cognitive decline in advanced age and AD. It relied on a series of observations obtained in aged animals, elderly, and AD patients that pointed to dysfunctions of cholinergic basal forebrain, similarities between cognitive impairments induced by anticholinergic drugs and those found in advanced age and AD, and beneficial effects of drugs stimulating cholinergic activity. This review revisits these major results to show how this hypothesis provided the drive for the development of anticholinesterase inhibitor-based therapies of AD, the almost exclusively approved treatment in use despite transient and modest efficacy. New ideas for improving cholinergic therapies are also compared and discussed in light of the current revival of the cholinergic hypothesis on the basis of two sets of evidence from new animal models and refined imagery techniques in humans. First, human and animal studies agree in detecting signs of cholinergic dysfunctions much earlier than initially believed. Second, alterations of the cholinergic system are deeply intertwined with its reactive responses, providing the brain with efficient compensatory mechanisms to delay the conversion into AD. Active research in this field should provide new insight into development of multitherapies incorporating cholinergic manipulation, as well as early biomarkers of AD enabling earlier diagnostics. This is of prime importance to counteract a disease that is now recognized to start early in adult life.

Basal forebrain degeneration precedes and predicts the cortical spread of Alzheimer's pathology

There is considerable debate whether Alzheimer's disease (AD) originates in basal forebrain or entorhinal cortex. Here we examined whether longitudinal decreases in basal forebrain and entorhinal cortex grey matter volume were interdependent and sequential. In a large cohort of age-matched older adults ranging from cognitively normal to AD, we demonstrate that basal forebrain volume predicts longitudinal entorhinal degeneration. Models of parallel degeneration or entorhinal origin received negligible support. We then integrated volumetric measures with an amyloid biomarker sensitive to pre-symptomatic AD pathology. Comparison between cognitively matched normal adult subgroups, delineated according to the amyloid biomarker, revealed abnormal degeneration in basal forebrain, but not entorhinal cortex. Abnormal degeneration in both basal forebrain and entorhinal cortex was only observed among prodromal (mildly amnestic) individuals. We provide evidence that basal forebrain pathology precedes and predicts both entorhinal pathology and memory impairment, challenging the widely held belief that AD has a cortical origin.

Whether Alzheimer's disease originates in basal forebrain or entorhinal cortex remains highly debated. Here the authors use structural magnetic resonance data from a longitudinal sample of participants stratified by cerebrospinal biomarker and clinical diagnosis to show that tissue volume changes appear earlier in the basal forebrain than in the entorhinal cortex.

Glutamatergic signaling and low prodynorphin expression are associated with intact memory and reduced anxiety in rat models of healthy aging

The LOU/C/Jall (LOU) rat strain is considered a model of healthy aging due to its increased longevity, maintenance of stable body weight (BW) throughout life and low incidence of age-related diseases. However, aging LOU rat cognitive and anxiety status has yet to be investigated. In the present study, male and female LOU rat cognitive performances (6-42 months) were assessed using novel object recognition and Morris Water Maze tasks. Recognition memory remained intact in all LOU rats up to 42 months of age. As for spatial memory, old LOU rat performed similarly as young animals for learning acquisition, reversal learning, and retention. While LOU rat BW remained stable despite aging, 20-month-old ad-libitum-fed (OAL) male Sprague Dawley rats become obese. We determined if long-term caloric restriction (LTCR) prevents age-related BW increase and cognitive deficits in this rat strain, as observed in the obesity-resistant LOU rats. Compared to young animals, recognition memory was impaired in OAL but intact in 20-month-old calorie-restricted (OCR) rats. Similarly, OAL spatial learning acquisition was impaired but LTCR prevented the deficits. Exacerbated stress responses may favor age-related cognitive decline. In the elevated plus maze and open field tasks, LOU and OCR rats exhibited high levels of exploratory activity whereas OAL rats displayed anxious behaviors. Expression of prodynorphin (Pdyn), an endogenous peptide involved in stress-related memory impairments, was increased in the hippocampus of OAL rats. Group 1 metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 and immediate early genes Homer 1a and Arc expression, both associated with successful cognitive aging, were unaltered in aging LOU rats but lower in OAL than OCR rats. Altogether, our results, supported by principal component analysis and correlation matrix, suggest that intact memory and low anxiety are associated with glutamatergic signaling and low Pdyn expression in the hippocampus of non-obese aging rats.

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide induces a dose-dependent activation of neuroglia and loss of basal forebrain cholinergic cells in the rat brain

In a rat model of neuroinflammation induced with a low-dose infusion lipopolysaccharide (5.0 ng/hr, LPS), we reported that brain arachidonic acid (ARA, 20:4 n-6), but not docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3), metabolism is increased compared to control rats. To further characterize the impact LPS has on the induction of injury in this model, we quantified the dose-dependent activation of neuroglia and the loss of cholinergic cells in rats subjected to increasing doses of LPS. In this study, we found that LPS produced a statistically significant and linear dose-dependent increase in the percentage of activated CD11b-positive microglia ranging from 26% to 82% following exposure to doses ranging between 0.05 and 500 ng/hr, respectively. The percentage of activated GFAP-positive astrocytes also increased linearly and significantly from 35% to 91%. Significant astroglial scaring was evident at the lateral ventricular boarder of rats treated with 50 and 500 ng/hr LPS, but not evident in control treated rats or rats treated with lower doses of LPS. A dose-dependent decrease in the numbers of ChAT-positive cells in the basal forebrain of LPS-treated rats was found at higher doses of LPS (5, 50, and 500 ng/hr) but not at lower doses. The numbers of ChAT-positive cells within individual regions of the basal forebrain (medial septum and diagonal bands) and the composite basal forebrain were similar in their response. These data demonstrate that extremely low doses of LPS are sufficient to induce significant neuroglia activation while moderate doses above 5.0 ng/hr are required to induce cholinergic cell loss.

Lifelong environmental enrichment in rats: impact on emotional behavior, spatial memory vividness, and cholinergic neurons over the lifespan

We assessed lifelong environmental enrichment effects on possible age-related modifications in emotional behaviors, spatial memory acquisition, retrieval of recent and remote spatial memory, and cholinergic forebrain systems. At the age of 1 month, Long-Evans female rats were placed in standard or enriched rearing conditions and tested after 3 (young), 12 (middle-aged), or 24 (aged) months. Environmental enrichment decreased the reactivity to stressful situations regardless of age. In the water maze test, it delayed the onset of learning deficits and prevented age-dependent spatial learning and recent memory retrieval alterations. Remote memory retrieval, which was altered independently of age under standard rearing conditions, was rescued by enrichment in young and middle-aged, but unfortunately not aged rats. A protected basal forebrain cholinergic system, which could well be one out of several neuronal manifestations of lifelong environmental enrichment, might have contributed to the behavioral benefits of this enrichment.

Partial loss in septo-hippocampal cholinergic neurons alters memory-dependent measures of brain connectivity without overt memory deficits

The functional relevance of septo-hippocampal cholinergic (SHC) degeneration to the degradation of hippocampus-dependent declarative memory (DM) in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains ill-defined. Specifically, selective SHC lesions often fail to induce overt memory impairments in animal models. In spite of apparent normal performance, however, neuronal activity within relevant brain structures might be altered by SHC disruption. We hypothesized that partial SHC degeneration may contribute to functional alterations within memory circuits occurring in aging before DM decline. In young adult mice, we studied the effects of behaviorally ineffective (saporin-induced) SHC lesions - similar in extent to that seen in aged animals - on activity patterns and functional connectivity between three main neural memory systems: the septo-hippocampal system, the striatum and the amygdala that sustain declarative, procedural and emotional memory, respectively. Animals were trained in a radial maze procedure dissociating the human equivalents of relational/DM and non-R/DM expressions in animals. Test-induced Fos activation pattern revealed that the partial SHC lesion significantly altered the brain's functional activities and connectivity (co-activation pattern) despite the absence of overt behavioral deficit. Specifically, hippocampal CA3 hyperactivity and abnormal septo-hippocampo-amygdalar inter-connectivity resemble those observed in aging and prodromal AD. Hence, SHC neurons critically coordinate hippocampal function in concert with extra-hippocampal structures in accordance with specific mnemonic demand. Although partial SHC degeneration is not sufficient to impact DM performance by itself, the connectivity change might predispose the emergence of subsequent DM loss when, due to additional age-related insults, the brain can no longer compensate the holistic imbalance caused by cholinergic loss.

Acetylcholine facilitates recovery of episodic memory after brain damage

Episodic memory depends on a network of interconnected brain structures including the inferior temporal cortex, hippocampus, fornix, and mammillary bodies. We have previously shown that a moderate episodic memory impairment in monkeys with transection of the fornix is exacerbated by prior depletion of acetylcholine from inferotemporal cortex, despite the fact that depletion of acetylcholine from inferotemporal cortex on its own has no effect on episodic memory. Here we show that this effect occurs because inferotemporal acetylcholine facilitates recovery of function following structural damage within the neural circuit for episodic memory. Episodic memory impairment caused by lesions of the mammillary bodies, like fornix transection, was exacerbated by prior removal of temporal cortical acetylcholine. However, removing temporal cortical acetylcholine after the lesion of the fornix or mammillary bodies did not increase the severity of the impairment. This lesion order effect suggests that acetylcholine within the inferior temporal cortex ordinarily facilitates functional recovery after structural lesions that impair episodic memory. In the absence of acetylcholine innervation to inferotemporal cortex, this recovery is impaired and the amnesia caused by the structural lesion is more severe. These results suggest that humans with loss of cortical acetylcholine function, for example in Alzheimer's disease, may be less able to adapt to memory impairments caused by structural neuronal damage to areas in the network important for episodic memory.

The novel multi-target iron chelating-radical scavenging compound M30 possesses beneficial effects on major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease

AIMS

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of the novel neuroprotective multi-target nontoxic, lipophilic, brain permeable monoamine oxidase inhibitor and iron chelating-radical scavenging drug, M30, on the neuropathology and deficits of spatial learning and memory in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin 1 (PS1) double-transgenic (Tg) Alzheimer's disease (AD) mice.

RESULTS

Here, we report that systemic treatment of APP/PS1 Tg mice with M30 for 9 months, significantly attenuated cognitive impairments in a variety of tasks of spatial learning and memory retention, working memory, learning abilities, anxiety levels, and memory for novel food and nesting behavior. Furthermore, we found that M30 reduced cerebral iron accumulation accompanied by a marked decrease in several AD-like phenotypes, including cerebral APP levels, amyloid β (Aβ) levels and plaques, phospho-APP and phospho-tau. Signaling studies revealed that M30 markedly downregulated the levels of phosphorylated cyclin-dependent kinase 5 and increased protein kinase B and glycogen synthase kinase 3β phosphorylation.

INNOVATION

Accumulation and deposition of brain iron is central to various neuropathological processes in AD, including oxidative stress, amyloid deposition, and tau phosphorylation. Thus, the concept of iron chelation holds considerable promise as a therapeutic strategy for AD pathogenesis. Here, for the first time, we demonstrated that, when systemically administered to APP/PS1 Tg mice, our novel multifunctional iron chelating/radical scavenging compound, M30, effectively reduced Aβ accumulation and tau phosphorylation, and attenuated memory deficits.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that M30 is a potential therapeutic agent for the prevention and treatment of AD.

Spatial memory alterations by activation of septal 5HT 1A receptors: no implication of cholinergic septohippocampal neurons

INTRODUCTION

In rats, activation of medial septum (MS) 5-HT(1A) receptors with the 5-HT(1A)/5-HT(7) receptor agonist 8-OH-DPAT disrupts encoding and consolidation, but not retrieval of a spatial memory in the water maze task. These findings might be explained by an action of 8-OH-DPAT on 5-HT(1A) receptors located on cholinergic neurons which the drug could transiently hyperpolarise. If so, selective damage of these neurons should mimic the effects of 8-OH-DPAT, or, at least, synergistically interfere with them.

METHODS

To test this hypothesis, rats were subjected to intraseptal infusions of 8-OH-DPAT (or phosphate-buffered saline) during acquisition of a water maze task before and/or after 192 IgG-saporin-induced MS cholinergic lesion (vs. sham-operated).

RESULTS

We confirmed that only pre-acquisition intraseptal 8-OH-DPAT infusions prevented learning and subsequent drug-free retrieval of the platform location in intact rats and found that (1) the cholinergic lesion did not prevent recall of the platform location, and (2) the impairing effects of 8-OH-DPAT were similar in sham-operated and lesioned rats, whether naïve or not, to the task before lesion surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

An action of 8-OH-DPAT on only MS cholinergic neurons is not sufficient to account for the drug-induced memory impairments. A concomitant 8-OH-DPAT-induced hyperpolarisation of cholinergic and/or GABAergic and/or glutamatergic neurons (intact rats), or of only GABAergic and/or glutamatergic ones after cholinergic lesion, might be necessary to obliterate task acquisition, confirming that, in the MS, (1) the three neuronal populations could cooperate to process hippocampal-dependent information, and (2) non-cholinergic septohippocampal neurons might be more important than cholinergic ones in serotonin-induced modulation of hippocampus-dependent memory processing.

Acetate supplementation attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced neuroinflammation

Glyceryl triacetate (GTA), a compound effective at increasing circulating and tissue levels of acetate was used to treat rats subjected to a continual 28 day intra-ventricular infusion of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This model produces a neuroinflammatory injury characterized by global neuroglial activation and a decrease in choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity in the basal forebrain. During the LPS infusion, rats were given a daily treatment of either water or GTA at a dose of 6 g/kg by oral gavage. In parallel experiments, free-CoA and acetyl-CoA levels were measured in microwave fixed brains and flash frozen heart, liver, kidney and muscle following a single oral dose of GTA. We found that a single oral dose of GTA significantly increased plasma acetate levels by 15 min and remained elevated for up to 4 h. At 30 min the acetyl-CoA levels in microwave-fixed brain and flash frozen heart and liver were increased at least 2.2-fold. The concentrations of brain acetyl-CoA was significantly increased between 30 and 45 min following treatment and remained elevated for up to 4 h. The concentration of free-CoA in brain was significantly decreased compared to controls at 240 min. Immunohistochemical and morphological analysis demonstrated that a daily treatment with GTA significantly reduced the percentage of reactive glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes and activated CD11b-positive microglia by 40-50% in rats subjected to LPS-induced neuroinflammation. Further, in rats subjected to neuroinflammation, GTA significantly increased the number of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive cells by 40% in the basal forebrain compared to untreated controls. These data suggest that acetate supplementation increases intermediary short chain acetyl-CoA metabolism and that treatment is potentially anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective with regards to attenuating neuroglial activation and increasing ChAT immunoreactivity in this model.

Localization of pre- and postsynaptic cholinergic markers in rodent forebrain: a brief history and comparison of rat and mouse

Rat and mouse models are widely used for studies in cognition and pathophysiology, among others. Here, we sought to determine to what extent these two model species differ for cholinergic and cholinoceptive features. For this purpose, we focused on cholinergic innervation patterns based on choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunostaining, and the expression of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) detected immunocytochemically. In this brief review we first place cholinergic and cholinoceptive markers in a historic perspective, and then provide an overview of recent publications on cholinergic studies and techniques to provide a literature survey of current research. Next, we compare mouse (C57Bl/J6) and rat (Wistar) cholinergic and cholinoceptive systems simultaneously stained, respectively, for ChAT (analyzed qualitatively) and mAChRs (analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively). In general, the topographic cholinergic innervation patterns of both rodent species are highly comparable, with only considerable (but region specific) differences in number of detectable cholinergic interneurons, which are more numerous in rat. In contrast, immunolabeling for mAChRs, detected by the monoclonal antibody M35, differs markedly in the forebrain between the two species. In mouse brain, basal levels of activated and/or internalized mAChRs (as a consequence of cholinergic neurotransmission) are significantly higher. This suggests a higher cholinergic tone in mouse than rat, and hence the animal model of choice may have consequences for cholinergic drug testing experiments.

Spatial memory consolidation is associated with induction of several lysine-acetyltransferase (histone acetyltransferase) expression levels and H2B/H4 acetylation-dependent transcriptional events in the rat hippocampus

Numerous genetic studies have shown that the CREB-binding protein (CBP) is an essential component of long-term memory formation, through its histone acetyltransferase (HAT) function. E1A-binding protein p300 and p300/CBP-associated factor (PCAF) have also recently been involved in memory formation. By contrast, only a few studies have reported on acetylation modifications during memory formation, and it remains unclear as to how the system is regulated during this dynamic phase. We investigated acetylation-dependent events and the expression profiles of these HATs during a hippocampus-dependent task taxing spatial reference memory in the Morris water maze. We found a specific increase in H2B and H4 acetylation in the rat dorsal hippocampus, while spatial memory was being consolidated. This increase correlated with the degree of specific acetylated histones enrichment on some memory/plasticity-related gene promoters. Overall, a global increase in HAT activity was measured during this memory consolidation phase, together with a global increase of CBP, p300, and PCAF expression. Interestingly, these regulations were altered in a model of hippocampal denervation disrupting spatial memory consolidation, making it impossible for the hippocampus to recruit the CBP pathway (CBP regulation and acetylated-H2B-dependent transcription). CBP has long been thought to be present in limited concentrations in the cells. These results show, for the first time, that CBP, p300, and PCAF are dynamically modulated during the establishment of a spatial memory and are likely to contribute to the induction of a specific epigenetic tagging of the genome for hippocampus-dependent (spatial) memory consolidation. These findings suggest the use of HAT-activating molecules in new therapeutic strategies of pathological aging, Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders.

Septohippocampal pathways contribute to system consolidation of a spatial memory: sequential implication of GABAergic and cholinergic neurons

Studies of the neuropharmacological substrates of spatial memory formation have focused on the contribution of septohippocampal pathways. Although these pathways include, among others, cholinergic and GABAergic fibers innervating the hippocampus, research has essentially been oriented towards the role of their cholinergic component. Recently, a few studies investigated the role of GABAergic septohippocampal projections. These only focused on almost immediate or recent memory and yielded discrepant results. GABAergic lesions impaired learning or had no effects. Given the role of the hippocampus in memory consolidation and the potential modulatory influence of the septum on hippocampal function, it is relevant to study the role of the septohippocampal interface in memory stabilization. We performed investigations with relatively selective lesions of GABAergic (using oxerin-saporin) or/and cholinergic (using 192 IgG-saporin) medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca (MS/vDBB) neurons in rats, and assessed acquisition of a spatial memory and its subsequent recall in the water maze. Following a 6-day training phase during which all groups improved performance to comparable levels, retention was tested 1, 5, or 25 days later. At the 1-day delay, all groups performed above chance and did not differ significantly among each other. At the 5-day delay, only rats with GABAergic or combined lesions exhibited a retention deficit. At the 25-day delay, all three lesion groups performed at chance level; in these groups, performance was significantly lower than that found in sham-operated rats. Immunochemical and histochemical verifications of the lesion extent/selectivity showed extensive GABAergic damage after intraseptal orexin-saporin infusions or cholinergic damage after 192 IgG-saporin infusions, with relatively limited damage to the other neurotransmitter system. Our data show that GABAergic and cholinergic septohippocampal neurons both contribute to memory stabilization, and could do so in a sequential way: GABAergic processes could be engaged at an earlier stage than cholinergic ones during system consolidation of a spatial memory.

Disconnection of the entorhinal cortex and dorsomedial striatum impairs the sensitivity to instrumental contingency degradation

The capacity to detect changes in the causal efficacy of actions is mediated by a number of brain areas, including the entorhinal cortex (EC) and the posterior part of the dorsomedial striatum (pDMS). In this study we examined whether interactions between the EC and pDMS are required to detect changes in the instrumental contingency. Rats that received EC-pDMS disconnection lesions, that is, unilateral cell body lesions of the EC and contralateral dopamine depletions of the pDMS, were trained to press two levers, with one delivering food pellets and the other a sucrose solution. Thereafter, we tested whether rats were sensitive (1) to a selective devaluation of the value of one of two outcomes using a specific satiety procedure, and (2) to a selective degradation of one of two contingencies controlling instrumental choice behavior. Our results reveal that rats with EC-pDMS disconnection lesions were sensitive to outcome devaluation. However, unlike rats with sham lesions or unilateral EC and pDMS lesions, rats with EC-pDMS disconnection lesions showed a reduced sensitivity to contingency degradation. These findings suggest that EC and pDMS may be part of a neural system that supports the detection of changes in the causal relationship between an action and its consequences.

Combined lesions of GABAergic and cholinergic septal neurons increase locomotor activity and potentiate the locomotor response to amphetamine

Potentiated locomotor response to amphetamine has been associated with an increased sensitivity of the dopaminergic system and used as a model of the positive symptoms of schizophrenia in rodents. The hippocampus, through the subiculum, modulates dopamine transmission and hippocampal or subicular lesions potentiate the locomotor response to amphetamine. However, little is known about the upstream structures controlling hippocampal/subicular activity towards the regulation of dopamine transmission. The main modulatory input to the hippocampus is the septal area, composed of the medial septum and vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca (MS/vDBB). The so-called septohippocampal pathway includes cholinergic and GABAergic fibers reaching the hippocampus through the fimbria-fornix. While electrolytic lesions of the MS/vDBB potentiate the locomotor response to amphetamine, cholinergic damage in the MS/vDBB does not affect this response. Moreover, the role of the GABAergic connections has never been investigated. Therefore, we performed in rats lesions of cholinergic or/and GABAergic septal neurons and assessed locomotor activity, (i) in an unfamiliar environment, (ii) under baseline conditions (separating light-on and light-off periods) and (iii) in response to an amphetamine challenge. While single lesions had no effects, rats with combined lesions were hyperactive in all three conditions. Thus, damage to cholinergic and GABAergic septohippocampal neurons induced locomotor alterations qualitatively comparable to those produced by hippocampal and/or subicular lesions. Our results further suggest that the septum, through both cholinergic and GABAergic fibers, modulates the functional contribution of the hippocampus/subiculum in the regulation of mesolimbic dopamine transmission.

Role of layer 6 of V2 visual cortex in object-recognition memory

Cellular responses in the V2 secondary visual cortex to simple as well as complex visual stimuli have been well studied. However, the role of area V2 in visual memory remains unexplored. We found that layer 6 neurons of V2 are crucial for the processing of object-recognition memory (ORM). Using the protein regulator of G protein signaling-14 (RGS-14) as a tool, we found that the expression of this protein into layer 6 neurons of rat-brain area V2 promoted the conversion of a normal short-term ORM that normally lasts for 45 minutes into long-term memory detectable even after many months. Furthermore, elimination of the same-layer neurons by means of injection of a selective cytotoxin resulted in the complete loss of normal as well as protein-mediated enhanced ORM.

Neonatal hyperleptinaemia programmes anxiety-like and novelty seeking behaviours but not memory/learning in adult rats

Leptin treatment during lactation programmes for leptin resistance at adulthood, evidenced by hyperleptinaemia, hyperphagia and overweight. Since leptin is known to affect stress response, emotional behaviour and memory/learning performance, the objective of the present study was to evaluate whether neonatal hyperleptinaemia programmes anxiety-like and novelty-seeking behaviours as well as memory/learning in adult male rats. During the first 10 days of lactation (from PN1 to PN10), pups were s.c. injected once per day with either 50 microL of saline (SAL) or murine leptin (LEP - 8 microg/100 g of body mass, saline diluted). Serum leptin was assessed at PN10 and at PN150. Two separate experiments were carried out: 1) experiment one: at PN137, 29 SAL and 30 LEP rats were tested in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) and, at PN142, their behaviour was assessed in the hole board (HB) arena; 2) experiment two: at PN140, a different group of rats consisting of 53 SAL and 56 LEP animals were tested in the radial arm water maze (RAWM). Serum leptin concentration was higher in the LEP group at PN10 and at PN150. LEP animals spent significantly less time in the open arms of the EPM. Furthermore, the number of nose-pokes in the HB arena was higher in LEP rats. There were no differences between groups regarding latency to find the hidden platform in the RAWM. Our results suggests that a central mechanism of leptin resistance at adulthood, caused by neonatal hyperleptinaemia, is associated with an increased level of anxiety and also that it intensifies novelty seeking-behaviour.

The role of cholinergic basal forebrain neurons in adenosine-mediated homeostatic control of sleep: lessons from 192 IgG-saporin lesions

A topic of high current interest and controversy is the basis of the homeostatic sleep response, the increase in non-rapid-eye-movement (NREM) sleep and NREM-delta activity following sleep deprivation (SD). Adenosine, which accumulates in the cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) during SD, has been proposed as one of the important homeostatic sleep factors. It is suggested that sleep-inducing effects of adenosine are mediated by inhibiting the wake-active neurons of the BF, including cholinergic neurons. Here we examined the association between SD-induced adenosine release, the homeostatic sleep response and the survival of cholinergic neurons in the BF after injections of the immunotoxin 192 immunoglobulin G (IgG)-saporin (saporin) in rats. We correlated SD-induced adenosine level in the BF and the homeostatic sleep response with the cholinergic cell loss 2 weeks after local saporin injections into the BF, as well as 2 and 3 weeks after i.c.v. saporin injections. Two weeks after local saporin injection there was an 88% cholinergic cell loss, coupled with nearly complete abolition of the SD-induced adenosine increase in the BF, the homeostatic sleep response, and the sleep-inducing effects of BF adenosine infusion. Two weeks after i.c.v. saporin injection there was a 59% cholinergic cell loss, correlated with significant increase in SD-induced adenosine level in the BF and an intact sleep response. Three weeks after i.c.v. saporin injection there was an 87% cholinergic cell loss, nearly complete abolition of the SD-induced adenosine increase in the BF and the homeostatic response, implying that the time course of i.c.v. saporin lesions is a key variable in interpreting experimental results. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that cholinergic neurons in the BF are important for the SD-induced increase in adenosine as well as for its sleep-inducing effects and play a major, although not exclusive, role in sleep homeostasis.

Neuroanatomical and behavioral effects of a novel version of the cholinergic immunotoxin mu p75-saporin in mice

The selective lesion of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons (BFCNs) is an unestimable tool to study the implication of these neurons in cognition, an interest widely motivated by their degeneration in Alzheimer's disease. Here we evaluated the histochemical and behavioral effects of a selective lesion of BFCNs in C57BL/6J mice treated intracerebroventricularly (ICV) with a novel version of the immunotoxin mu p75-saporin (0.4 mug/mouse). There was a 100% postsurgical survival rate, no abnormal loss of weight, no disruption of sensorimotor coordination, and no noncognitive bias in a water-maze test. This immunotoxin induced a loss of choline acetyltransferase-positive neurons in the medial septum (-82%) and in the nucleus basalis (-55%). Preserved parvalbumine-immunostaining suggests that the lesion was specific to BFCNs. Septo-hippocampal and basalo-cortical projections of BFCNs degenerated as suggested by massive loss of acetylcholinesterase-positive staining in the hippocampus and the cortical mantle. Moreover, anticalbindin immunostaining showed no damage to cerebellar Purkinje cells. Lesioned mice displayed increased diurnal and nocturnal locomotor activity. Their spatial learning/memory performances in a water maze and in a Barnes maze were significantly impaired: learning was substantially slowed down, although not obliterated, and memory retention was altered. These behavioral consequences are comparable, with fewer side effects, to those reported after ICV 192 IgG-saporin in rats. In conclusion, the new version of mu p75-saporin provides a safe and powerful tool for BFCN lesion in mice.

Coexisting cholinergic and parahippocampal degeneration: a key to memory loss in dementia and a challenge for transgenic models?

One century after Alzheimer's initial report, a variety of animal models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are being used to mimic one or more pathological signs viewed as critical for the evolution of cognitive decline in dementia. Among the most common are, (a) traditional lesion models aimed at reproducing the degeneration of one of two key brain regions affected in AD, namely the cholinergic basal forebrain (CBF) and the transentorhinal region, and (b) transgenic mouse models aimed at reproducing AD histopathological hallmarks, namely amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These models have provided valuable insights into the development and consequences of the pathology, but they have not consistently reproduced the severity of memory deficits exhibited in AD. The reasons for this lack of correspondence with the severity of expected deficits may include the limited replication of multiple neuropathology in potentially key brain regions. A recent lesion model in the rat found that severe memory impairment was obtained only when the two traditional lesions were combined together (i.e. conjoint CBF and entorhinal cortex lesions), indicative of a dramatic impact on cognitive function when there is coexisting, rather than isolated, damage in these two brain regions. It is proposed that combining AD transgenic mouse models with additional experimental damage to both the CBF and entorhinal regions might provide a unique opportunity to further understand the evolution of the disease and improve treatments of severe cognitive dysfunction in neurodegenerative dementias.

Complete recovery of olfactory associative learning by activation of 5-HT4 receptors after dentate granule cell damage in rats

Bilateral intradentate injections of 3.0microg of colchicine induced a substantial loss of granule cells and damage to the overlying pyramidal cell layer in region CA1 in adult male Long-Evans rats. All rats with such lesions showed a significant associative learning deficit in an olfactory discrimination task, while being unimpaired in the procedural component of this task. Injection of a partial selective 5-HT(4) agonist (SL65.0155; 0.01mg/kg, i.p., vs. saline) before the third of six training sessions enabled complete recovery of associative learning performance in the lesioned rats. Activation of 5-HT(4) receptors by a selective agonist such as SL65.0155 might therefore provide an opportunity to reduce learning and memory deficits associated with temporal lobe damage, and could be useful for the symptomatic treatment of memory dysfunctions related to pathological aging such as Alzheimer's disease.

Activation of septal 5-HT1A receptors alters spatial memory encoding, interferes with consolidation, but does not affect retrieval in rats subjected to a water-maze task

Using Long-Evans rats tested in a water maze, this study assessed the role of 5-HT1A/5-HT7 receptors of the medial septum in encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of spatial information. The testing protocol (acquisition: daily four-trial sessions over three consecutive days; retention: probe trial on day 4) was first validated by showing that intraseptal infusions of lidocaine (LIDO; 40 microg/0.5 microL) disrupted acquisition and retrieval of the task. 8-OH-DPAT (4 microg/0.5 microL) infused before each acquisition session prevented learning/retention of the platform location, an effect attenuated by pretreatment with the 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY 100635. With the 5-HT7 antagonist SB 269970, the 8-OH-DPAT-induced acquisition deficit seemed attenuated, but there was no subsequent retention. When infused immediately, 1, 4, or 6 h after each acquisition session, 8-OH-DPAT did not hinder consolidation. When the infusions were performed 2 h postacquisition, however, consolidation was disrupted. Finally, when infused before a probe trial after drug-free acquisition, 8-OH-DPAT had no effect, suggesting no interference with retrieval processes. We also established that 8-OH-DPAT had no effects when the platform was visible, and altered neither home-cage activity nor anxiety-related behavior (elevated plus-maze). Altogether, these results show that 5-HT1A receptors in the septal region contribute both to declarative-like information encoding and subsequently, within a given postacquisition time window, to its consolidation. They do not participate in the retrieval of recently learned declarative-like information. These observations suggest that 5-HT1A receptors of the medial septum contribute to a serotonin-mediated mechanism involved in the encoding and consolidation, not the retrieval of spatial hippocampal-dependent knowledge. These results might have some relevance to approaches aimed at modifying serotonergic functions in the brain for the treatment of disorders such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and amnesia.