title: Cholinergic and non-cholinergic synaptic mechanisms in the aged rat hippocampus.
abstract: We compared age-related alterations in the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons in three strains of rats (Sprague-Dawley, Fisher 344 and Wistar) at 3-4 and 25-32 months of age, using the in vitro slice preparation. The most consistent age-related alterations were: a decrease in membrane excitability, a decrease in the amplitude and duration of inhibitory postsynaptic potentials and a decreased sensitivity to the effect of the cholinergic agonist carbachol. In contrast, no consistent alterations in calcium-dependent events were observed in these strains of rats. The age-related changes in the duration of the after-hyperpolarization (AHP) were different (and even opposite) depending on the strain studied. Our results show that age-related changes observed in a given strain are not necessarily present in all strains of the same species.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiopharmacologie du Système Nerveux INSERM U 161, Paris, France.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Potier
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lamour
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dutar
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013045:Species Specificity; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005680:gamma-Aminobutyric Acid