Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Articles

Cholinergic manipulations in the medial septal area: age-related effects on working memory and hippocampal electrophysiology

AL Markowska, DS Olton and B Givens
Journal of Neuroscience 1 March 1995, 15 (3) 2063-2073; https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-03-02063.1995
AL Markowska
Department of Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218–2686.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
DS Olton
Department of Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218–2686.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
B Givens
Department of Psychology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218–2686.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Aged rats have impairments in several types of cognitive functions, including spatial working memory (WM), that are dependent upon the septohippocampal cholinergic system. The present series of experiments was designed to assess the effectiveness of pharmacological manipulations of the medial septal area (MSA) in order to influence the physiology of the septohippocampal pathway and, therefore, the brain functions in which this pathway participates. Aged (22MO) and young (4MO) Fischer-344 rats received microinfusions into the MSA with either saline, the muscarinic agonist, oxotremorine (OXO), or the muscarinic antagonist, scopolamine (SCOP). Working memory was tested in a T-maze spatial alternation task, prior to infusion, immediately after infusion, and 90 min after infusion. Hippocampal theta activity and the population excitatory postsynaptic potential (pEPSP) of the dentate gyrus to perforant path stimulation were recorded immediately following behavioral testing at each of the three time periods. In 22MO rats, intraseptal OXO (0.5 micrograms, 2 micrograms, 5 micrograms) produced a dose-dependent improvement in choice accuracy, a shift of the hippocampal theta peak to a lower frequency and a higher peak power, and an increase in the initial slope of pEPSP. OXO, 0.1 microgram, did not have an effect on behavior or hippocampal physiology and OXO, 10 micrograms, produced an impairment in performance. In 4MO rats, OXO did not affect choice accuracy, nor the pEPSP slope, but altered hippocampal theta peak frequency and power similarly as in 22MO. The lowest behaviorally effective dose, 0.5 microgram OXO, did not influence WM performance when infused into the lateral ventricles (intracerebroventricularly) of either 22MO or 4MO rats. SCOP (2 micrograms, 5 micrograms, 15 micrograms) decreased choice accuracy in a dose-dependent fashion in both 22MO and 4MO rats. However, in 22MO rats, the behavioral dose-response curve for scopolamine was shifted towards greater sensitivity. SCOP produced a shift of the hippocampal theta to a higher frequency and a lower peak power, and a decrease in the initial slope of pEPSP. In 4MO rats, SCOP altered hippocampal theta similarly to 22MO, but did not affect the pEPSP slope. These results indicate that (1) cholinergic receptors in the MSA are a useful target for drugs to improve WM in aging rats, (2) age-related changes in the activity of the septohippocampal pathway may increase its sensitivity to drugs which alter its activity, and (3) alterations in hippocampal physiology may contribute differently to changes in WM in young and in old rats.

Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 15 (3)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 15, Issue 3
1 Mar 1995
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Cholinergic manipulations in the medial septal area: age-related effects on working memory and hippocampal electrophysiology
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Cholinergic manipulations in the medial septal area: age-related effects on working memory and hippocampal electrophysiology
AL Markowska, DS Olton, B Givens
Journal of Neuroscience 1 March 1995, 15 (3) 2063-2073; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-03-02063.1995

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
Cholinergic manipulations in the medial septal area: age-related effects on working memory and hippocampal electrophysiology
AL Markowska, DS Olton, B Givens
Journal of Neuroscience 1 March 1995, 15 (3) 2063-2073; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.15-03-02063.1995
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

No eLetters have been published for this article.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Memory Retrieval Has a Dynamic Influence on the Maintenance Mechanisms That Are Sensitive to ζ-Inhibitory Peptide (ZIP)
  • Neurophysiological Evidence for a Cortical Contribution to the Wakefulness-Related Drive to Breathe Explaining Hypocapnia-Resistant Ventilation in Humans
  • Monomeric Alpha-Synuclein Exerts a Physiological Role on Brain ATP Synthase
Show more Articles
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Follow SFN on BlueSky
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Notice
  • Contact
  • Accessibility
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2025 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.