Acetylcholine, aging and anatomy: differential effects in the hippocampus.
The response to acetylcholine (ACh) administered microiontophoretically was determined for single units in CA1 and CA3-4 areas of the hippocampi of both young (3-5 months) and old (24-26 months) Fisher 344 rats. Single units in CA1 showed a greater response to ACh (20 nA) than single units in CA3-4 in young and in old rats. However, the response to ACh in single units of young rats was significantly greater than in single units of old rats. Baseline firing rates in old rats were lower than those in young rats. However, there was no difference in baseline firing rates between the two areas of the hippocampus indicating that the differential response to ACh as a function of area cannot be attributed to a difference in baseline firing rate.
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004594:Electrophysiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D007478:Iontophoresis; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344
D000109:Acetylcholine