Impulsivity in youth predicts early age-related cognitive deficits in rats.
Impulsivity is a feature of psychiatric disorders such as mania, addictive behaviors or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has recently been related to complaints of forgetfulness in adults. We investigated whether impulsiveness exerts a long-term influence on cognitive function in rats in a longitudinal study. Impulsivity, assessed by the ability to complete a sequence of presses to obtain food (conditioning box), spatial working memory (8-arm radial maze) assessed with varying degree of attentional load and recognition memory (Y-maze) were tested at different ages. Marked individual differences in impulsivity were observed at youth and remained stable at middle-age despite a general decline in the trait. Working memory scores of impulsive and non-impulsive rats did not differ in youth, whereas by middle-age the impulsive group had impaired working memory and was more sensitive to a higher attentional demand. Thus, impulsiveness in youth predicts cognitive performance in middle-age. These findings may help refine the search for early biological substrates of successful aging and for preventive follow-up of subjects at risk of impaired cognitive aging.
Dellu-Hagedorn
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Laboratoire de Neuropsychobiologie des Désadaptations, CNRS UMR 5541, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, B.P. 31, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France. francoise.dellu@lnpb.u-bordeaux2.fr
Trunet
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Simon
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D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D000818:Animals; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley