Elsevier

Neuroscience Letters

Volume 297, Issue 2, 12 January 2001, Pages 85-88
Neuroscience Letters

Age-related changes in potentiation of evoked responses in CA1 pyramidal cells from the hamster hippocampus

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3940(00)01680-3Get rights and content

Abstract

Hippocampal responses were compared in 16 old (15–22 month) and 14 young (2–5 month) Syrian hamsters to determine if this species showed age-dependent changes in potentiation. Population spike amplitude increased following tetanus by 84.1±20.0% in slices from young animals and by 51.1±6.3% in slices from old animals (P<0.05). In addition, I-O curves (plots of population spike amplitude vs. intensity of Schaffer collateral excitation) were obtained before and after tetanus. While regions of I-O curves near threshold and saturation showed no significant change, the slope at the midpoint of the I-O curve increased by 152.3±68.4% in slices from young animals and by 13.7 ±10.0% in slices from old animals (P<0.05). Thus, in old hamsters (as in rats) potentiation was impaired and slope changes of I/O curves clearly displayed this deficit.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr Barbara Horwitz for critically reviewing this study and Dr Michael Guinan for technical assistance.

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