Faculty Collaboration Database

The effects of nerve growth factor on spatial recent memory in aged rats persist after discontinuation of treatment. J Neurosci 1997 Apr 01;17(7):2543-50

Date

04/01/1997

Pubmed ID

9065514

Pubmed Central ID

PMC6573502

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.17-07-02543.1997

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0030910003 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   50 Citations

Abstract

Nerve growth factor (NGF) infusion significantly reduces spatial recent memory deficits in aged rats, an effect that has great relevance to the treatment of memory impairments characteristic of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The present study was designed to examine whether this NGF-induced improvement in spatial recent memory persists after the discontinuation of NGF treatment, an issue of crucial importance for the potential clinical use of this compound. Spatial recent memory was tested in a Morris water maze delayed nonmatch-to-position task. In addition to memory, sensorimotor skills were also examined. Four- and 22-month-old rats were tested preoperatively, infused intraventricularly with recombinant human NGF or vehicle, and tested both during the 4 week infusion period and during the 4 weeks after discontinuation of the infusion. NGF significantly improved spatial recent memory in 22-month-old rats only, during the 4th week of infusion and for up to 4 weeks after discontinuation of the infusion. Although NGF did not affect overall sensorimotor skills during infusion in either age group, sensorimotor skills were significantly improved both 2 and 4 weeks after discontinuation of infusion in 22-month-old rats. These findings demonstrate that the beneficial effects of NGF on spatial recent memory can persist for up to 1 month after discontinuation of infusion and suggest that NGF can be used intermittently for the treatment of age-associated memory dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease.

Author List

Frick KM, Price DL, Koliatsos VE, Markowska AL

Author

Karyn Frick BA,MA,PhD Professor in the Psychology department at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Aging
Animals
Body Weight
Choice Behavior
Escape Reaction
Humans
Male
Maze Learning
Nerve Growth Factors
Orientation
Psychomotor Performance
Rats
Rats, Inbred F344
Recombinant Proteins
Time Factors