Oxotremorine infusions into the medial septal area of middle-aged rats affect spatial reference memory and ChAT activity. Behav Brain Res 1996 Oct;80(1-2):99-109
Date
10/01/1996Pubmed ID
8905133DOI
10.1016/0166-4328(96)00025-3Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0030272535 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 27 CitationsAbstract
Age-related spatial memory deficits are correlated with septohippocampal cholinergic system degeneration. The present study examined the effect of intraseptal infusions of the cholinergic agonist, oxotremorine, on spatial reference memory in middle-aged rats using place discrimination in the water maze, and on cholinergic activity using choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity. Oxotremorine mildly improved the rate of place discrimination acquisition of middle-aged rats during initial sessions only, but did not affect asymptotic levels of performance achieved. Of the brain regions assayed, ChAT activity increased with age in the temporal cortex and dorsal CA2/3 region of the hippocampus. Oxotremorine significantly decreased ChAT activity in the dorsal hippocampus. In contrast to our previous results in aged rats indicating a more robust effect of oxotremorine on spatial working memory, the present results suggest a modest effect of intraseptal oxotremorine on the acquisition of a spatial reference memory task.
Author List
Frick KM, Gorman LK, Markowska ALAuthor
Karyn Frick BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AgingAnimals
Brain
Choline O-Acetyltransferase
Cholinergic Agonists
Injections
Male
Maze Learning
Memory
Motivation
Motor Skills
Oxotremorine
Rats
Rats, Inbred F344
Space Perception
Visual Acuity
