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Title: Effects of age on spatial information processing: relationship to senescent changes in brain noradrenergic and opioid systems

Abstract

A major focus in current research on aging is the identification of senescent changes in cognitive function in laboratory animals. This literature indicates that the processing of spatial information may be particularly impaired during senescence. The degree to which nonspecific factors (eg. sensory of motor deficits) contribute to behavioral impairments in aging, however, remains largely uninvestigated. In addition, few studies have attempted to identify senescent changes in brain structure and function which might underlie the behavioral manifestations of aging. In the behavioral experiments reported here, the authors tested young, middle-age, and senescent rates in several versions of a spatial memory task, the Morris water maze. The results of these investigations demonstrate that aged rats are significantly impaired in the Morris task compared to young or middle-age animals. In addition, these studies indicate that age-related deficits in the water maze reflect a specific dysfunction in the ability of older animals to effectively process spatial information rather than a senescent decline in sensory or motor functions. Using the subjects from the behavioral studies, additional investigations assessed whether age-dependent changes in neurochemical and neuroanatomical systems which are known to mediate spatial learning in young animals were related to the behavioral deficits exhibited bymore » aged rats. The results of these studies demonstrate that a portion of senescent animals exhibit significant increases in lateral septal /sup 3/H-desmethylimipramine binding and decrease in /sup 3/H-naloxone binding in this same region as assessed by quantitative in vitro autoradiography.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
North Carolina Univ., Chapel Hill (USA)
OSTI Identifier:
6897729
Resource Type:
Thesis/Dissertation
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; BRAIN; AUTORADIOGRAPHY; PHYSIOLOGY; LEARNING; AGE DEPENDENCE; BEHAVIOR; IMIPRAMINE; RATS; TRITIUM COMPOUNDS; AMINES; ANIMALS; ANTIDEPRESSANTS; BODY; CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM; CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM AGENTS; DRUGS; HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS; LABELLED COMPOUNDS; MAMMALS; NERVOUS SYSTEM; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS; ORGANS; PSYCHOTROPIC DRUGS; RODENTS; VERTEBRATES; 551001* - Physiological Systems- Tracer Techniques

Citation Formats

Rapp, P R. Effects of age on spatial information processing: relationship to senescent changes in brain noradrenergic and opioid systems. United States: N. p., 1985. Web.
Rapp, P R. Effects of age on spatial information processing: relationship to senescent changes in brain noradrenergic and opioid systems. United States.
Rapp, P R. 1985. "Effects of age on spatial information processing: relationship to senescent changes in brain noradrenergic and opioid systems". United States.
@article{osti_6897729,
title = {Effects of age on spatial information processing: relationship to senescent changes in brain noradrenergic and opioid systems},
author = {Rapp, P R},
abstractNote = {A major focus in current research on aging is the identification of senescent changes in cognitive function in laboratory animals. This literature indicates that the processing of spatial information may be particularly impaired during senescence. The degree to which nonspecific factors (eg. sensory of motor deficits) contribute to behavioral impairments in aging, however, remains largely uninvestigated. In addition, few studies have attempted to identify senescent changes in brain structure and function which might underlie the behavioral manifestations of aging. In the behavioral experiments reported here, the authors tested young, middle-age, and senescent rates in several versions of a spatial memory task, the Morris water maze. The results of these investigations demonstrate that aged rats are significantly impaired in the Morris task compared to young or middle-age animals. In addition, these studies indicate that age-related deficits in the water maze reflect a specific dysfunction in the ability of older animals to effectively process spatial information rather than a senescent decline in sensory or motor functions. Using the subjects from the behavioral studies, additional investigations assessed whether age-dependent changes in neurochemical and neuroanatomical systems which are known to mediate spatial learning in young animals were related to the behavioral deficits exhibited by aged rats. The results of these studies demonstrate that a portion of senescent animals exhibit significant increases in lateral septal /sup 3/H-desmethylimipramine binding and decrease in /sup 3/H-naloxone binding in this same region as assessed by quantitative in vitro autoradiography.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6897729}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985},
month = {Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1985}
}

Thesis/Dissertation:
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