Sex differences in neurochemical markers that correlate with behavior in aging mice. Neurobiol Aging 2002;23(1):145-58
Date
01/05/2002Pubmed ID
11755029DOI
10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00237-8Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0036147308 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 35 CitationsAbstract
Sex differences in neurochemical markers that correlate with behavior in aging mice NEUROBIOL AGING. We examined whether the enzymatic activities of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) were altered similarly with age in male and female mice, and whether these changes were correlated with age-related alterations in memory and anxiety. ChAT and GAD activities were measured in neocortex, hippocampus, and striatum of behaviorally characterized male and female C57BL/6 mice (5, 17, and 25 months). Generally, ChAT activity was increased, and GAD activity decreased, with age. However, disparate changes were revealed between the sexes; activities of both enzymes were decreased in 17-month males, whereas alterations in females were not observed until 25-months. Furthermore, enzyme-behavior correlations differed between the sexes; in males, ChAT activity was related to one behavioral task, whereas in females, activities of both enzymes were correlated with multiple tasks. Significant enzyme-behavior correlations were most evident at 17 months of age, likely the result of behavioral and enzymatic sex differences at this age. These data represent the first comprehensive report illustrating differential alterations of ChAT and GAD activities in aging male and female mice.
Author List
Frick KM, Burlingame LA, Delaney SS, Berger-Sweeney JAuthor
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
Behavior, Animal
Biomarkers
Brain
Choline O-Acetyltransferase
Cues
Female
Glutamate Decarboxylase
Male
Maze Learning
Memory
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL
Odorants
Sex Characteristics
Swimming
