NMDA Receptor Activation in the Aged Rat: Electrophysiological Investigations in the CA1 Area of the Hippocampal Slice Ex Vivo

The effects of aging on activation of N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors were studied in the CA1 field of hippocampal slices from young (2–4 months old) and aged (25–32 months old) Sprague–Dawley rats with the use of ex vivo extra- and intracellular electrophysiological recording techniques. No...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurobiology of aging 1997-09, Vol.18 (5), p.535-542
Main Authors: Billard, J.M, Jouvenceau, A, Lamour, Y, Dutar, P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging
Aging - physiology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
CA1 pyramidal cell
Development. Senescence. Regeneration. Transplantation
Electric Stimulation
Evoked Potentials - drug effects
Evoked Potentials - physiology
Excitatory Amino Acid Agonists - pharmacology
Excitatory postsynaptic potentials
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Glutamate receptors
Hippocampus
Hippocampus - cytology
Hippocampus - metabolism
Hippocampus - physiology
In Vitro Techniques
Life Sciences
Long-term potentiation
Long-Term Potentiation - drug effects
Male
N-methyl- d-aspartate
N-Methylaspartate - pharmacology
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Neurons and Cognition
Pyramidal Cells - metabolism
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - agonists
Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate - physiology
Short term potentiation
Synapses - physiology
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:The effects of aging on activation of N-methyl- d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors were studied in the CA1 field of hippocampal slices from young (2–4 months old) and aged (25–32 months old) Sprague–Dawley rats with the use of ex vivo extra- and intracellular electrophysiological recording techniques. No significant age-related changes of the unitary NMDA-receptor mediated excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs), recorded from the pyramidal cells after stimulation of the stratum radiatum in a magnesium-free medium and isolated in the presence of the non-NMDA receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione, were found. Simultaneously, the magnitude of synaptic plasticity which involved NMDA receptor activation was not altered. No significant age-related modifications in the mechanisms controlling glutamate release and of postsynaptic NMDA receptor responsiveness were revealed. Considering the 30–40% decrease in NMDA binding sites in the aged hippocampus, our results suggest the occurrence of compensatory mechanisms which are discussed.
ISSN:0197-4580
1558-1497
DOI:10.1016/S0197-4580(97)00104-8