Elsevier

Neurobiology of Aging

Volume 14, Issue 1, January–February 1993, Pages 17-25
Neurobiology of Aging

Age-related alterations in the properties of hippocampal pyramidal neurons among rat strains

https://doi.org/10.1016/0197-4580(93)90016-5Get rights and content

Abstract

—We compared age-related alterations in the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of CA1 hippocampal pyramidal neurons in three strains of rats (Sprague-Dawley, Fisher 344, and Wistar) at 3–4 and 25–32 months of age, using the in vitro slice preparation. The most consistent age-related alterations in the properties of rat hippocampal neurons were: a decrease in membrane excitability, a decrease in the amplitude and duration of inhibitory postsynaptic potentials and a decreased sensitivity to the effect of the cholinergic agonist carbachol. In contrast, no consistent alterations in calcium-dependent events were observed in these strains of rats. The age-related changes in the duration of the afterhyperpolarizations (AHPs) were different (and even opposite) depending on the strain studied. Our results show that age-related changes observed in a given strain are not necessarily present in all strains of the same species.

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