17beta-estradiol suppresses expression of long-term depression in aged rats.
It has been recently reported that the female steroid hormone 17beta-estradiol enhances synaptic transmission and the magnitude of long-term potentiation (LTP) in adult rodent hippocampus. Moreover, 17beta-estradiol ameliorates cognitive and memory function in postmenopausal women. Since aging is associated with an alteration of synaptic plasticity (e.g., higher susceptibility to long-term depression [LTD]), we examined whether 17beta-estradiol alters the expression of LTD in aged rats. We now report that the induction of LTD recorded from CA1 hippocampal neurons of aged rats is suppressed by 17beta-estradiol treatment, which produced only a minimal effect in suppressing LTD in adult rats. These results suggest that estrogen may act to improve memory by suppressing forgetfulness via a synaptic mechanism, such as LTD.
Vouimba
R M
RM
Program in Neuroscience, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. garcia@neurocog.u-bordeaux.fr
Foy
M R
MR
Foy
J G
JG
Thompson
R F
RF
D000375:Aging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004958:Estradiol