QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, September 1, 2004, 24(35):7648-7653; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1725-04.2004

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (37) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nicholson, D. A. Articles by Geinisman, Y. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nicholson, D. A. Articles by Geinisman, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Reduction in Size of Perforated Postsynaptic Densities in Hippocampal Axospinous Synapses and Age-Related Spatial Learning Impairments

Daniel A. Nicholson,¹ Rie Yoshida,¹ Robert W. Berry,¹ Michela Gallagher,² and Yuri Geinisman¹

¹Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine and Institute of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois 60611, and ²Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218

A central problem in the neurobiology of normal aging is why learning is preserved in some aged individuals yet impaired in others. To investigate this issue, we examined whether age-related deficits in spatial learning are associated with a reduction in postsynaptic density (PSD) area in hippocampal excitatory synapses (i.e., with a structural modification that is likely to have a deleterious effect on synaptic function). A hippocampus-dependent version of the Morris water maze task was used to separate Long-Evans male rats into young adult, aged learning-unimpaired, and equally aged learning-impaired groups. Axospinous synapses from the CA1 stratum radiatum were analyzed using systematic random sampling and serial section analyses. We report that aged learning-impaired rats exhibit a marked (30%) and significant reduction in PSD area, whereas aged learning-unimpaired rats do not. The observed structural alteration involves a substantial proportion of perforated synapses but is not observed in nonperforated synapses. These findings support the notion that many hippocampal perforated synapses become less efficient in aged learning-impaired rats, which may contribute to cognitive decline during normal aging.

Key words: normal aging; learning deficits; perforated synapses; hippocampus; CA1 stratum radiatum; rat

---

Received May 5, 2004; revised June 28, 2004; accepted June 29, 2004.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				J. P. Lister and C. A. Barnes Neurobiological Changes in the Hippocampus During Normative Aging Arch Neurol, July 1, 2009; 66(7): 829 - 833. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. Miranda, C. Sebrie, J. Degrouard, B. Gillet, D. Jaillard, S. Laroche, and C. Vaillend Reorganization of Inhibitory Synapses and Increased PSD Length of Perforated Excitatory Synapses in Hippocampal Area CA1 of Dystrophin-Deficient mdx Mice Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2009; 19(4): 876 - 888. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. A. Blanpied, J. M. Kerr, and M. D. Ehlers Structural plasticity with preserved topology in the postsynaptic protein network PNAS, August 26, 2008; 105(34): 12587 - 12592. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. L. Gerrard, S. N. Burke, B. L. McNaughton, and C. A. Barnes Sequence Reactivation in the Hippocampus Is Impaired in Aged Rats J. Neurosci., July 30, 2008; 28(31): 7883 - 7890. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Fellini, M. Schachner, and F. Morellini Adult but not aged C57BL/6 male mice are capable of using geometry for orientation Learn. Mem., July 1, 2006; 13(4): 473 - 481. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Hanus, M.-V. Ehrensperger, and A. Triller Activity-dependent movements of postsynaptic scaffolds at inhibitory synapses. J. Neurosci., April 26, 2006; 26(17): 4586 - 4595. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. G. Kuo, G. Lee, and J. F. Disterhoft Simultaneous training on two hippocampus-dependent tasks facilitates acquisition of trace eyeblink conditioning. Learn. Mem., March 1, 2006; 13(2): 201 - 207. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help