1
|
Hill PF, Bermudez S, McAvan AS, Garren JD, Grilli MD, Barnes CA, Ekstrom AD. Age differences in spatial memory are mitigated during naturalistic navigation. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 2024:1-25. [PMID: 38445641 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2024.2326244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Spatial navigation deficits are often observed among older adults on tasks that require navigating virtual reality (VR) environments on a computer screen. We investigated whether these age differences are attenuated when tested in more naturalistic and ambulatory virtual environments. In Experiment 1, young and older adults navigated a variant of the Morris Water Maze task in each of two VR conditions: a desktop VR condition which required using a mouse and keyboard to navigate, and an ambulatory VR condition which permitted unrestricted locomotion. In Experiment 2, we examined whether age- and VR-related differences in spatial performance were affected by the inclusion of additional spatial cues. In both experiments, older adults navigated to target locations less precisely than younger individuals in the desktop condition. Age differences were significantly attenuated, however, when tested in the ambulatory VR environment. These findings underscore the importance of developing naturalistic assessments of spatial memory and navigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul F Hill
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - Andrew S McAvan
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Joshua D Garren
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Matthew D Grilli
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Arne D Ekstrom
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zheng L, Gao Z, Doner S, Oyao A, Forloines M, Grilli MD, Barnes CA, Ekstrom AD. Hippocampal contributions to novel spatial learning are both age-related and age-invariant. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2307884120. [PMID: 38055735 PMCID: PMC10723126 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307884120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Older adults show declines in spatial memory, although the extent of these alterations is not uniform across the healthy older population. Here, we investigate the stability of neural representations for the same and different spatial environments in a sample of younger and older adults using high-resolution functional MRI of the medial temporal lobes. Older adults showed, on average, lower neural pattern similarity for retrieving the same environment and more variable neural patterns compared to young adults. We also found a positive association between spatial distance discrimination and the distinctiveness of neural patterns between environments. Our analyses suggested that one source for this association was the extent of informational connectivity to CA1 from other subfields, which was dependent on age, while another source was the fidelity of signals within CA1 itself, which was independent of age. Together, our findings suggest both age-dependent and independent neural contributions to spatial memory performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li Zheng
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
| | - Zhiyao Gao
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA94305
| | - Stephanie Doner
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
| | - Alexis Oyao
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
| | - Martha Forloines
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA95816
| | - Matthew D. Grilli
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
| | - Arne D. Ekstrom
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ85721
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zheng L, Gao Z, Doner S, Oyao A, Forloines M, Grilli MD, Barnes CA, Ekstrom AD. Hippocampal contributions to novel spatial learning are both age-related and age-invariant. bioRxiv 2023:2023.06.28.546918. [PMID: 37425879 PMCID: PMC10326977 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.28.546918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
Older adults show declines in spatial memory, although the extent of these alterations is not uniform across the healthy older population. Here, we investigate the stability of neural representations for the same and different spatial environments in a sample of younger and older adults using high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the medial temporal lobe. Older adults showed, on average, lower neural pattern similarity for retrieving the same environment and more variable neural patterns compared to young adults. We also found a positive association between spatial distance discrimination and the distinctiveness of neural patterns between environments. Our analyses suggested that one source for this association was the extent of informational connectivity to CA1 from other subfields, which was dependent on age, while another source was the fidelity of signals within CA1 itself, which was independent of age. Together, our findings suggest both age-dependent and independent neural contributions to spatial memory performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Li Zheng
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
| | - Zhiyao Gao
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Stephanie Doner
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
| | - Alexis Oyao
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
| | - Martha Forloines
- Alzheimer s Disease Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, Sacramento, CA 95816
| | - Matthew D Grilli
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
- Evelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
- Evelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
| | - Arne D Ekstrom
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
- Evelyn McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85719
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Gray DT, Zempare M, Carey N, Khattab S, Sinakevitch I, De Biase LM, Barnes CA. Extracellular matrix proteoglycans support aged hippocampus networks: a potential cellular-level mechanism of brain reserve. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 131:52-58. [PMID: 37572527 PMCID: PMC10529564 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.07.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/14/2023]
Abstract
One hallmark of normative brain aging is vast heterogeneity in whether older people succumb to or resist cognitive decline. Resilience describes a brain's capacity to maintain cognition in the face of aging and disease. One factor influencing resilience is brain reserve-the status of neurobiological resources available to support neuronal circuits as dysfunction accumulates. This study uses a cohort of behaviorally characterized adult, middle-aged, and aged rats to test whether neurobiological factors that protect inhibitory neurotransmission and synapse function represent key components of brain reserve. Histochemical analysis of extracellular matrix proteoglycans, which play critical roles in stabilizing synapses and modulating inhibitory neuron excitability, was conducted alongside analyses of lipofuscin-associated autofluorescence. The findings indicate that aging results in lower proteoglycan density and more lipofuscin in CA3. Aged rats with higher proteoglycan density exhibited better performance on the Morris watermaze, whereas lipofuscin abundance was not related to spatial memory. These data suggest that the local environment around neurons may protect against synapse dysfunction or hyperexcitability and could contribute to brain reserve mechanisms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Gray
- Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Marc Zempare
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Natalie Carey
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Salma Khattab
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Irina Sinakevitch
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Lindsay M De Biase
- Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hill PF, Bermudez S, McAvan AS, Garren JD, Grilli MD, Barnes CA, Ekstrom AD. Age differences in spatial memory are mitigated during naturalistic navigation. bioRxiv 2023:2023.01.23.525279. [PMID: 36747699 PMCID: PMC9900839 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.23.525279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Spatial navigation deficits in older adults are well documented. These findings are often based on experimental paradigms that require using a joystick or keyboard to navigate a virtual desktop environment. In the present study, we investigated whether age differences in spatial memory are attenuated when tested in a more naturalistic and ambulatory virtual environment. In Experiment 1, cognitively normal young and older adults navigated a virtual variant of the Morris Water Maze task in each of two virtual reality (VR) conditions: a desktop VR condition which required using a mouse and keyboard to navigate and an immersive and ambulatory VR condition which permitted unrestricted locomotion. In Experiment 2, we examined whether age- and VR-related differences in spatial performance were affected by the inclusion of additional spatial cues in an independent sample of young and older adults. In both experiments, older adults navigated to target locations less precisely than did younger individuals in the desktop condition, replicating numerous prior studies. These age differences were significantly attenuated, however, when tested in the fully immersive and ambulatory environment. These findings underscore the importance of developing naturalistic and ecologically valid measures of spatial memory and navigation, especially when performing cross-sectional studies of cognitive aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paul F. Hill
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | | | | | | | - Matthew D. Grilli
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | - Arne D. Ekstrom
- Psychology Department, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Gray DT, Khattab S, Meltzer J, McDermott K, Schwyhart R, Sinakevitch I, Härtig W, Barnes CA. Retrosplenial cortex microglia and perineuronal net densities are associated with memory impairment in aged rhesus macaques. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:4626-4644. [PMID: 36169578 PMCID: PMC10110451 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Synapse loss and altered plasticity are significant contributors to memory loss in aged individuals. Microglia, the innate immune cells of the brain, play critical roles in maintaining synapse function, including through a recently identified role in regulating the brain extracellular matrix. This study sought to determine the relationship between age, microglia, and extracellular matrix structure densities in the macaque retrosplenial cortex. Twenty-nine macaques ranging in age from young adult to aged were behaviorally characterized on 3 distinct memory tasks. Microglia, parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons and extracellular matrix structures, known as perineuronal nets (PNNs), were immuno- and histochemically labeled. Our results indicate that microglia densities increase in the retrosplenial cortex of aged monkeys, while the proportion of PV neurons surrounded by PNNs decreases. Aged monkeys with more microglia had fewer PNN-associated PV neurons and displayed slower learning and poorer performance on an object recognition task. Stepwise regression models using age and the total density of aggrecan, a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of PNNs, better predicted memory performance than did age alone. Together, these findings indicate that elevated microglial activity in aged brains negatively impacts cognition in part through mechanisms that alter PNN assembly in memory-associated brain regions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| | - Salma Khattab
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| | - Jeri Meltzer
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| | - Kelsey McDermott
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| | - Rachel Schwyhart
- Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Irina Sinakevitch
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| | - Wolfgang Härtig
- Paul Flechsig Institute for Brain Research, University of Leipzig, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Stern Y, Albert M, Barnes CA, Cabeza R, Pascual-Leone A, Rapp PR. A framework for concepts of reserve and resilience in aging. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 124:100-103. [PMID: 36653245 PMCID: PMC10424718 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2022.10.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
The study of factors, across species, that allow some individuals to age more successfully than others has important implications for individual wellbeing as well as health education, policy and intervention. Design of studies and communication across investigators in this area has been hampered by a diversity of terminology. The Collaboratory on Research Definitions for Reserve and Resilience in Cognitive Aging and Dementia was funded by the National Institute on Aging and established in 2019 as a 3-year process of developing consensus definitions and research guidelines. The proposed Framework is based on an iterative process including 3 annual Workshops, focused workgroups, and input from numerous international investigators. It suggests the overarching term: resilience, and presents operational definitions for 3 concepts: cognitive reserve, brain maintenance, and brain reserve. Twelve pilot studies that integrate these definitions are presented. The use of a common vocabulary and operational definitions will facilitate even greater progress in understanding the factors that are associated with successful aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaakov Stern
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Marilyn Albert
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, and Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Roberto Cabeza
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | | | - Peter R Rapp
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurocognitive Aging Section, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Lester AW, Jordan GA, Blum CJ, Philpot ZP, Barnes CA. Differential effects in young and aged rats' navigational accuracy following instantaneous rotation of environmental cues. Behav Neurosci 2022; 136:561-574. [PMID: 36395015 PMCID: PMC10482423 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Successful navigation depends critically upon two broad categories of spatial navigation strategies that include allocentric and egocentric reference frames, relying on external or internal spatial information, respectively. As with older adults, aged rats show robust impairments on a number of different spatial navigation tasks. There is some evidence that these navigation impairments are accompanied by a bias toward relying on egocentric over allocentric navigation strategies. To test the degree to which young and aged animals utilize these two navigation approaches, a novel behavioral arena was used in which rats are trained to traverse a circular track and to stop at a learned goal location that is fixed with respect to a panorama of visual cues projected onto the surrounding walls. By instantaneously rotating the cues, allocentric and egocentric reference frames were put in direct and immediate conflict and goal navigation performance was assessed with respect to how accurately young and aged animals were able to utilize the rotated cues. Behavioral data collected from nine young and eight aged animals revealed that both age groups were able to update their navigation performance following cue rotation. Contrary to what was expected, however, aged animals showed more accurate overall goal navigation performance, stronger allocentric strategy use, and more evident changes in behavior in response to cue rotation compared to younger animals. The young rats appeared to mix egocentric and allocentric strategies for ICR task solution. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Crown LM, Gray DT, Schimanski LA, Barnes CA, Cowen SL. Aged Rats Exhibit Altered Behavior-Induced Oscillatory Activity, Place Cell Firing Rates, and Spatial Information Content in the CA1 Region of the Hippocampus. J Neurosci 2022; 42:4505-4516. [PMID: 35477900 PMCID: PMC9172068 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1855-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Hippocampal gamma and theta oscillations are associated with mnemonic and navigational processes and adapt to changes in the behavioral state of an animal to optimize spatial information processing. It has been shown that locomotor activity modulates gamma and theta frequencies in rats, although how age alters this modulation has not been well studied. Here, we examine gamma and theta local-field potential and place cell activity in the hippocampus CA1 region of young and old male rats as they performed a spatial eye-blink conditioning task across 31 d. Although mean gamma frequency was similar in both groups, gamma frequency increased with running speed at a slower rate in old animals. By contrast, theta frequencies scaled with speed similarly in both groups but were lower across speeds in old animals. Although these frequencies scaled equally well with deceleration and speed, acceleration was less correlated with gamma frequency in both age groups. Additionally, spike phase-locking to gamma, but not theta, was greater in older animals. Finally, aged rats had reduced within-field firing rates but greater spatial information per spike within the field. These data support a strong relationship between locomotor behavior and local-field potential activity and suggest that age significantly affects this relationship. Furthermore, observed changes in CA1 place cell firing rates and information content lend support to the hypothesis that age may result in more general and context-invariant hippocampal representations over more detailed information. These results may explain the observation that older adults tend to recall the gist of an experience rather than the details.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Hippocampal oscillations and place cell activity are sensitive to sensorimotor input generated from active locomotion, yet studies of aged hippocampal function often do not account for this. By considering locomotion and spatial location, we identify novel age-associated differences in the scaling of oscillatory activity with speed, spike-field coherence, spatial information content, and within-field firing rates of CA1 place cells. These results indicate that age has an impact on the relationship between locomotion and hippocampal oscillatory activity, perhaps indicative of alterations to afferent input. These data also support the hypothesis that aged hippocampal place cells, compared with young, may more often represent more general spatial information. If true, these results may help explain why older humans tend to recall less specific and more gist-like information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey M Crown
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721
| | - Daniel T Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Lesley A Schimanski
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721
- Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Stephen L Cowen
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Zhou Y, Chawla MK, Rios-Monterrosa JL, Wang L, Zempare MA, Hruby VJ, Barnes CA, Cai M. Aged Brains Express Less Melanocortin Receptors, Which Correlates with Age-Related Decline of Cognitive Functions. Molecules 2021; 26:6266. [PMID: 34684847 PMCID: PMC8541441 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26206266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 10/03/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain G-protein coupled receptors have been hypothesized to be potential targets for maintaining or restoring cognitive function in normal aged individuals or in patients with neurodegenerative disease. A number of recent reports suggest that activation of melanocortin receptors (MCRs) in the brain can significantly improve cognitive functions of normal rodents and of different rodent models of the Alzheimer's disease. However, the potential impact of normative aging on the expression of MCRs and their potential roles for modulating cognitive function remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we first investigated the expression of these receptors in six different brain regions of young (6 months) and aged (23 months) rats following assessment of their cognitive status. Correlation analysis was further performed to reveal potential contributions of MCR subtypes to spatial learning and memory. Our results revealed statistically significant correlations between the expression of several MCR subtypes in the frontal cortex/hypothalamus and the hippocampus regions and the rats' performance in spatial learning and memory only in the aged rats. These findings support the hypothesis that aging has a direct impact on the expression and function of MCRs, establishing MCRs as potential drug targets to alleviate aging-induced decline of cognitive function.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhou
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (Y.Z.); (J.L.R.-M.); (L.W.); (V.J.H.)
| | - Monica K. Chawla
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (M.K.C.); (M.A.Z.); (C.A.B.)
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Jose L. Rios-Monterrosa
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (Y.Z.); (J.L.R.-M.); (L.W.); (V.J.H.)
| | - Lingzhi Wang
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (Y.Z.); (J.L.R.-M.); (L.W.); (V.J.H.)
| | - Marc A. Zempare
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (M.K.C.); (M.A.Z.); (C.A.B.)
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Victor J. Hruby
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (Y.Z.); (J.L.R.-M.); (L.W.); (V.J.H.)
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (M.K.C.); (M.A.Z.); (C.A.B.)
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Department of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Minying Cai
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; (Y.Z.); (J.L.R.-M.); (L.W.); (V.J.H.)
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Rajagopal R, Barnes CA, David JM, Goseland J, Goseland J. Evaluation of a commercial loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay, 3M TM Molecular Detection Assay 2 - Campylobacter, for the detection of Campylobacter from poultry matrices. Br Poult Sci 2021; 62:404-413. [PMID: 33517711 DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2021.1879992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
1. The objective of this study was to evaluate performance of a commercial loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) method as an alternative method for the detection of Campylobacter spp. in primary production samples, poultry rinses and raw poultry products, as compared to the US Department of Agriculture Food Inspection Service Microbiology Laboratory Guide Book PCR reference method, MLG 41A.2. The Campylobacter spp. LAMP was used in conjunction with a ready-to-use enrichment broth that does not require microaerophilic incubation. After enrichment, boot swabs from poultry farms, carcase rinses and raw poultry products were tested by the LAMP method and the MLG 41A PCR method.3. The ready-to-use enrichment broth enabled the growth of Campylobacter spp. within 22 to 28 hours under aerobic incubation conditions. The LAMP method enabled Campylobacter detection in the enriched samples of various poultry matrices and had equivalent sensitivity and specificity to the MLG 41A PCR method.4. No significant difference (95% confidence interval) was found between the alternative and the MLG 41A PCR method, as determined by probability of detection analysis, except for neutralising buffered peptone water post-chill rinsates. For the post-chill neutralising buffered peptone water rinsates, the LAMP method had significantly higher confirmed portions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - J Goseland
- WBA Analytical Laboratories, Inc., Springdale, AR, USA
| | - J Goseland
- WBA Analytical Laboratories, Inc., Springdale, AR, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
McQuail JA, Dunn AR, Stern Y, Barnes CA, Kempermann G, Rapp PR, Kaczorowski CC, Foster TC. Cognitive Reserve in Model Systems for Mechanistic Discovery: The Importance of Longitudinal Studies. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 12:607685. [PMID: 33551788 PMCID: PMC7859530 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.607685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The goal of this review article is to provide a resource for longitudinal studies, using animal models, directed at understanding and modifying the relationship between cognition and brain structure and function throughout life. We propose that forthcoming longitudinal studies will build upon a wealth of knowledge gleaned from prior cross-sectional designs to identify early predictors of variability in cognitive function during aging, and characterize fundamental neurobiological mechanisms that underlie the vulnerability to, and the trajectory of, cognitive decline. Finally, we present examples of biological measures that may differentiate mechanisms of the cognitive reserve at the molecular, cellular, and network level.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A McQuail
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Amy R Dunn
- The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME, United States
| | - Yaakov Stern
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Departments of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Gerd Kempermann
- CRTD-Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers (HZ), Dresden, Germany
| | - Peter R Rapp
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurocognitive Aging Section, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | | | - Thomas C Foster
- Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Gray DT, De La Peña NM, Umapathy L, Burke SN, Engle JR, Trouard TP, Barnes CA. Auditory and Visual System White Matter Is Differentially Impacted by Normative Aging in Macaques. J Neurosci 2020; 40:8913-8923. [PMID: 33051354 PMCID: PMC7659446 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1163-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 10/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in auditory and visual processing are commonly encountered by older individuals. In addition to the relatively well described age-associated pathologies that reduce sensory processing at the level of the cochlea and eye, multiple changes occur along the ascending auditory and visual pathways that further reduce sensory function in each domain. One fundamental question that remains to be directly addressed is whether the structure and function of the central auditory and visual systems follow similar trajectories across the lifespan or sustain the impacts of brain aging independently. The present study used diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological assessments of auditory and visual system function in adult and aged macaques to better understand how age-related changes in white matter connectivity at multiple levels of each sensory system might impact auditory and visual function. In particular, the fractional anisotropy (FA) of auditory and visual system thalamocortical and interhemispheric corticocortical connections was estimated using probabilistic tractography analyses. Sensory processing and sensory system FA were both reduced in older animals compared with younger adults. Corticocortical FA was significantly reduced only in white matter of the auditory system of aged monkeys, while thalamocortical FA was lower only in visual system white matter of the same animals. Importantly, these structural alterations were significantly associated with sensory function within each domain. Together, these results indicate that age-associated deficits in auditory and visual processing emerge in part from microstructural alterations to specific sensory white matter tracts, and not from general differences in white matter condition across the aging brain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Age-associated deficits in sensory processing arise from structural and functional alterations to both peripheral sensory organs and central brain regions. It remains unclear whether different sensory systems undergo similar or distinct trajectories in function across the lifespan. To provide novel insights into this question, this study combines electrophysiological assessments of auditory and visual function with diffusion MRI in aged macaques. The results suggest that age-related sensory processing deficits in part result from factors that impact the condition of specific white matter tracts, and not from general decreases in connectivity between sensory brain regions. Such anatomic specificity argues for a framework aimed at understanding vulnerabilities with relatively local influence and brain region specificity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Gray
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Nicole M De La Peña
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Lavanya Umapathy
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Sara N Burke
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32609
| | - James R Engle
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Theodore P Trouard
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85724
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Fox AS, Holley D, Klink PC, Arbuckle SA, Barnes CA, Diedrichsen J, Kwok SC, Kyle C, Pruszynski JA, Seidlitz J, Zhou X, Poldrack RA, Gorgolewski KJ. Sharing voxelwise neuroimaging results from rhesus monkeys and other species with Neurovault. Neuroimage 2020; 225:117518. [PMID: 33137472 PMCID: PMC7846271 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 10/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal neuroimaging studies can provide unique insights into brain structure and function, and can be leveraged to bridge the gap between animal and human neuroscience. In part, this power comes from the ability to com bine mechanistic interventions with brain-wide neuroimaging. Due to their phylogenetic proximity to humans, nonhuman primate neuroimaging holds particular promise. Because nonhuman primate neuroimaging studies are often underpowered, there is a great need to share data amongst translational researchers. Data sharing efforts have been limited, however, by the lack of standardized tools and repositories through which nonhuman neuroimaging data can easily be archived and accessed. Here, we provide an extension of the Neurovault framework to enable sharing of statistical maps and related voxelwise neuroimaging data from other species and template-spaces. Neurovault, which was previously limited to human neuroimaging data, now allows researchers to easily upload and share nonhuman primate neuroimaging results. This promises to facilitate open, integrative cross-species science while affording researchers the increased statistical power provided by data aggregation. In addition, the Neurovault code-base now enables the addition of other species and template-spaces. Together, these advances promise to bring neuroimaging data sharing to research in other species, for supplemental data location-based atlases, and data that would otherwise be relegated to a “file-drawer”. As increasing numbers of researchers share their nonhuman neuroimaging data on Neurovault, this resource will enable novel, large-scale, cross-species comparisons that were previously impossible.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew S Fox
- University of California, Davis and the California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Daniel Holley
- University of California, Davis and the California National Primate Research Center, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Peter Christiaan Klink
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Carol A Barnes
- University of Arizona, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Jörn Diedrichsen
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sze Chai Kwok
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Kunshan, Jiangsu, China; NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, China
| | - Colin Kyle
- University of Arizona, Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | - Jakob Seidlitz
- Lifespan Brain Institute, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - XuFeng Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Alexander GE, Lin L, Yoshimaru ES, Bharadwaj PK, Bergfield KL, Hoang LT, Chawla MK, Chen K, Moeller JR, Barnes CA, Trouard TP. Age-Related Regional Network Covariance of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Gray Matter in the Rat. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:267. [PMID: 33005147 PMCID: PMC7479213 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Healthy human aging has been associated with brain atrophy in prefrontal and selective temporal regions, but reductions in other brain areas have been observed. We previously found regional covariance patterns of gray matter with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in healthy humans and rhesus macaques, using multivariate network Scaled Subprofile Model (SSM) analysis and voxel-based morphometry (VBM), supporting aging effects including in prefrontal and temporal cortices. This approach has yet to be applied to neuroimaging in rodent models of aging. We investigated 7.0T MRI gray matter covariance in 10 young and 10 aged adult male Fischer 344 rats to identify, using SSM VBM, the age-related regional network gray matter covariance pattern in the rodent. SSM VBM identified a regional pattern that distinguished young from aged rats, characterized by reductions in prefrontal, temporal association/perirhinal, and cerebellar areas with relative increases in somatosensory, thalamic, midbrain, and hippocampal regions. Greater expression of the age-related MRI gray matter pattern was associated with poorer spatial learning in the age groups combined. Aging in the rat is characterized by a regional network pattern of gray matter reductions corresponding to aging effects previously observed in humans and non-human primates. SSM MRI network analyses can advance translational aging neuroscience research, extending from human to small animal models, with potential for evaluating mechanisms and interventions for cognitive aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gene E. Alexander
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Lan Lin
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Eriko S. Yoshimaru
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Pradyumna K. Bharadwaj
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Kaitlin L. Bergfield
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Lan T. Hoang
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Monica K. Chawla
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Kewei Chen
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
- Banner Samaritan PET Center and Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - James R. Moeller
- Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Theodore P. Trouard
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Arizona Alzheimer’s Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Gray DT, Umapathy L, De La Peña NM, Burke SN, Engle JR, Trouard TP, Barnes CA. Auditory Processing Deficits Are Selectively Associated with Medial Temporal Lobe Mnemonic Function and White Matter Integrity in Aging Macaques. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:2789-2803. [PMID: 31833551 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz275] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in auditory function and cognition are hallmarks of normative aging. Recent evidence suggests that hearing-impaired individuals have greater risks of developing cognitive impairment and dementia compared to people with intact auditory function, although the neurobiological bases underlying these associations are poorly understood. Here, a colony of aging macaques completed a battery of behavioral tests designed to probe frontal and temporal lobe-dependent cognition. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and visual evoked potentials were measured to assess auditory and visual system function. Structural and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging were then performed to evaluate the microstructural condition of multiple white matter tracts associated with cognition. Animals showing higher cognitive function had significantly better auditory processing capacities, and these associations were selectively observed with tasks that primarily depend on temporal lobe brain structures. Tractography analyses revealed that the fractional anisotropy (FA) of the fimbria-fornix and hippocampal commissure were associated with temporal lobe-dependent visual discrimination performance and auditory sensory function. Conversely, FA of frontal cortex-associated white matter was not associated with auditory processing. Visual sensory function was not associated with frontal or temporal lobe FA, nor with behavior. This study demonstrates significant and selective relationships between ABRs, white matter connectivity, and higher-order cognitive ability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Gray
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute
| | - Lavanya Umapathy
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Nicole M De La Peña
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute
| | - Sara N Burke
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - James R Engle
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute
| | - Theodore P Trouard
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute.,Department of Biomedical Engineering
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute.,Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Huentelman MJ, Talboom JS, Lewis CR, Chen Z, Barnes CA. Reinventing Neuroaging Research in the Digital Age. Trends Neurosci 2019; 43:17-23. [PMID: 31848024 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2019.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 11/08/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The worldwide average human lifespan has increased over the past century. These changing demographics demand a reinvention of experimental approaches to study the brain and aging, with the aim of better matching cognitive healthspan with human lifespan. Past studies of cognitive aging included sample sizes that tended to be underpowered, were not sufficiently representative of national population characteristics, and often lacked longitudinal assessments. As a step to address these shortcomings, we propose a framework that encourages interaction between electronic-based and face-to-face study designs. We argue that this will achieve the necessary synergy to accelerate progress in the discovery and application of personalized interventions to optimize brain and cognitive health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matt J Huentelman
- Neurogenomics Division, The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA; The Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Joshua S Talboom
- Neurogenomics Division, The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA; The Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Candace R Lewis
- Neurogenomics Division, The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, USA; The Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Zhao Chen
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- The Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, AZ, USA; Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Barnes CA, Ryan L, Peterson MA. Nadel special issue introduction. Hippocampus 2019; 30:773-775. [PMID: 31763745 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carol A Barnes
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Tucson, Arizona.,Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.,Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Lee Ryan
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Tucson, Arizona
| | - Mary A Peterson
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Tucson, Arizona.,Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Stern Y, Barnes CA, Grady C, Jones RN, Raz N. Brain reserve, cognitive reserve, compensation, and maintenance: operationalization, validity, and mechanisms of cognitive resilience. Neurobiol Aging 2019; 83:124-129. [PMID: 31732015 PMCID: PMC6859943 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.03.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 191] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 03/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Significant individual differences in the trajectories of cognitive aging and in age-related changes of brain structure and function have been reported in the past half-century. In some individuals, significant pathological changes in the brain are observed in conjunction with relatively well-preserved cognitive performance. Multiple constructs have been invoked to explain this paradox of resilience, including brain reserve, cognitive reserve, brain maintenance, and compensation. The aim of this session of the Cognitive Aging Summit III was to examine the overlap and distinctions in definitions and measurement of these constructs, to discuss their neural and behavioral correlates and to propose plausible mechanisms of individual cognitive resilience in the face of typical age-related neural declines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yaakov Stern
- Cognitive Neuroscience Division, Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, and Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Cheryl Grady
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre, and Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Richard N Jones
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry & Human Behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Naftali Raz
- Institute of Gerontology and Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA; Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Pyon WS, Gray DT, Barnes CA. An Alternative to Dye-Based Approaches to Remove Background Autofluorescence From Primate Brain Tissue. Front Neuroanat 2019; 13:73. [PMID: 31379520 PMCID: PMC6657503 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2019.00073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain tissue contains autofluorescing elements that potentially impede accurate identification of neurons when visualized with fluorescent microscopy. Age-related accumulation of molecules with autofluorescent properties, such as lipofuscin, can possess spectral profiles that invade the typical emission range of fluorophores commonly utilized in fluorescent microscopy. The traditional method for accounting for this native fluorescence is to apply lipophilic dyes that are able to sequester these unwanted signals. While effective, such dyes can present a range of problems including the obstruction of fluorescent probe emissions. The present study utilizes aged primate midbrain tissue stained for tyrosine hydroxylase and calbindin to investigate an image processing approach for removing autofluorescence utilizing spectral imaging and linear unmixing. This technique is then compared against the traditional, dye-based autofluorescence sequestration method using Sudan Black B (SBB). Spectral imaging and linear unmixing yielded significantly higher cell numbers than SBB treatment. This finding suggests that computational approaches for removing autofluorescence in neural tissue are both viable and preferential to dye-based approaches for estimation of cell body numbers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wonn S. Pyon
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Daniel T. Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Department of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Talboom JS, Håberg A, De Both MD, Naymik MA, Schrauwen I, Lewis CR, Bertinelli SF, Hammersland C, Fritz MA, Myers AJ, Hay M, Barnes CA, Glisky E, Ryan L, Huentelman MJ. Family history of Alzheimer's disease alters cognition and is modified by medical and genetic factors. eLife 2019; 8:46179. [PMID: 31210642 PMCID: PMC6615857 DOI: 10.7554/elife.46179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In humans, a first-degree family history of dementia (FH) is a well-documented risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, the influence of FH on cognition across the lifespan is poorly understood. To address this issue, we developed an internet-based paired-associates learning (PAL) task and tested 59,571 participants between the ages of 18–85. FH was associated with lower PAL performance in both sexes under 65 years old. Modifiers of this effect of FH on PAL performance included age, sex, education, and diabetes. The Apolipoprotein E ε4 allele was also associated with lower PAL scores in FH positive individuals. Here we show, FH is associated with reduced PAL performance four decades before the typical onset of AD; additionally, several heritable and non-heritable modifiers of this effect were identified.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joshua S Talboom
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States
| | - Asta Håberg
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Matthew D De Both
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States
| | - Marcus A Naymik
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States
| | - Isabelle Schrauwen
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States
| | - Candace R Lewis
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States
| | | | | | - Mason A Fritz
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States
| | | | - Meredith Hay
- Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States.,University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States.,University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
| | - Elizabeth Glisky
- Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States.,University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
| | - Lee Ryan
- Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States.,University of Arizona, Tucson, United States
| | - Matthew J Huentelman
- The Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, United States.,Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, Phoenix, United States
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Ryan L, Hay M, Huentelman MJ, Duarte A, Rundek T, Levin B, Soldan A, Pettigrew C, Mehl MR, Barnes CA. Precision Aging: Applying Precision Medicine to the Field of Cognitive Aging. Front Aging Neurosci 2019; 11:128. [PMID: 31231204 PMCID: PMC6568195 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The current "one size fits all" approach to our cognitive aging population is not adequate to close the gap between cognitive health span and lifespan. In this review article, we present a novel model for understanding, preventing, and treating age-related cognitive impairment (ARCI) based on concepts borrowed from precision medicine. We will discuss how multiple risk factors can be classified into risk categories because of their interrelatedness in real life, the genetic variants that increase sensitivity to, or ameliorate, risk for ARCI, and the brain drivers or common mechanisms mediating brain aging. Rather than providing a definitive model of risk for ARCI and cognitive decline, the Precision Aging model is meant as a starting point to guide future research. To that end, after briefly discussing key risk categories, genetic risks, and brain drivers, we conclude with a discussion of steps that must be taken to move the field forward.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lee Ryan
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Meredith Hay
- Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Matt J. Huentelman
- Neurobehavioral Research Unit, Division of Neurological Disorders, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Audrey Duarte
- Center for Advanced Brain Imaging, School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Tatjana Rundek
- Clinical and Translational Research Division, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Bonnie Levin
- Neuropsychology Division, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Anja Soldan
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Corinne Pettigrew
- Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Matthias R. Mehl
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Department of Psychology, College of Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Kyle CT, Stokes J, Bennett J, Meltzer J, Permenter MR, Vogt JA, Ekstrom A, Barnes CA. Cytoarchitectonically-driven MRI atlas of nonhuman primate hippocampus: Preservation of subfield volumes in aging. Hippocampus 2019; 29:409-421. [PMID: 29072793 PMCID: PMC5920786 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Revised: 09/29/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Identification of primate hippocampal subfields in vivo using structural MRI imaging relies on variable anatomical guidelines, signal intensity differences, and heuristics to differentiate between regions (Yushkevich et al., 2015a). Thus, a clear anatomically-driven basis for subfield demarcation is lacking. Recent work, however, has begun to develop methods to use ex vivo histology or ex vivo MRI (Adler et al., 2014; Iglesias et al., 2015) that have the potential to inform subfield demarcations of in vivo images. For optimal results, however, ex vivo and in vivo images should ideally be matched within the same healthy brains, with the goal to develop a neuroanatomically-driven basis for in vivo structural MRI images. Here, we address this issue in young and aging rhesus macaques (young n = 5 and old n = 5) using ex vivo Nissl-stained sections in which we identified the dentate gyrus, CA3, CA2, CA1, subiculum, presubiculum, and parasubiculum guided by morphological cell properties (30 μm thick sections spaced at 240 μm intervals and imaged at 161 nm/pixel). The histologically identified boundaries were merged with in vivo structural MRIs (0.625 × 0.625 × 1 mm) from the same subjects via iterative rigid and diffeomorphic registration resulting in probabilistic atlases of young and old rhesus macaques. Our results indicate stability in hippocampal subfield volumes over an age range of 13 to 32 years, consistent with previous results showing preserved whole hippocampal volume in aged macaques (Shamy et al., 2006). Together, our methods provide a novel approach for identifying hippocampal subfields in non-human primates and a potential 'ground truth' for more accurate identification of hippocampal subfield boundaries on in vivo MRIs. This could, in turn, have applications in humans where accurately identifying hippocampal subfields in vivo is a critical research goal.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Colin T Kyle
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | - Jared Stokes
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA
| | - Jeffrey Bennett
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and M.I.N.D. Institute, UC Davis, Sacramento, CA
| | - Jeri Meltzer
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Michele R Permenter
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Julie A Vogt
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
| | - Arne Ekstrom
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, CA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Kyle CT, Stokes J, Bennett J, Meltzer J, Permenter MR, Vogt JA, Ekstrom A, Barnes CA. Cover Image, Volume 29, Issue 5. Hippocampus 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22969] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Colin T. Kyle
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucson AZ
| | - Jared Stokes
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavis CA
| | - Jeffrey Bennett
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and M.I.N.D. InstituteUC DavisSacramento CA
| | - Jeri Meltzer
- California National Primate Research CenterUniversity of California, DavisDavis CA
| | - Michele R. Permenter
- California National Primate Research CenterUniversity of California, DavisDavis CA
| | - Julie A. Vogt
- California National Primate Research CenterUniversity of California, DavisDavis CA
| | - Arne Ekstrom
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of CaliforniaDavis CA
- Center for NeuroscienceUniversity of CaliforniaDavis CA
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucson AZ
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory and AgingUniversity of ArizonaTucson AZ
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology and NeuroscienceUniversity of ArizonaTucson AZ
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Willeman MN, Chawla MK, Zempare MA, Biwer LA, Hoang LT, Uprety AR, Fitzhugh MC, De Both M, Coleman PD, Trouard TP, Alexander GE, Mitchell KD, Barnes CA, Hale TM, Huentelman M. Gradual hypertension induction in middle-aged Cyp1a1-Ren2 transgenic rats produces significant impairments in spatial learning. Physiol Rep 2019; 7:e14010. [PMID: 30916484 PMCID: PMC6436186 DOI: 10.14814/phy2.14010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2018] [Revised: 12/16/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Hypertension is a major health concern in the developed world, and its prevalence increases with advancing age. The impact of hypertension on the function of the renal and cardiovascular systems is well studied; however, its influence on the brain regions important for cognition has garnered less attention. We utilized the Cyp1a1-Ren2 xenobiotic-inducible transgenic rat model to mimic both the age of onset and rate of induction of hypertension observed in humans. Male, 15-month-old transgenic rats were fed 0.15% indole-3-carbinol (I3C) chow to slowly induce renin-dependent hypertension over a 6-week period. Systolic blood pressure significantly increased, eventually reaching 200 mmHg by the end of the study period. In contrast, transgenic rats fed a control diet without I3C did not show significant changes in blood pressure (145 mmHg at the end of study). Hypertension was associated with cardiac, aortic, and renal hypertrophy as well as increased collagen deposition in the left ventricle and kidney of the I3C-treated rats. Additionally, rats with hypertension showed reduced savings from prior spatial memory training when tested on the hippocampus-dependent Morris swim task. Motor and sensory functions were found to be unaffected by induction of hypertension. Taken together, these data indicate a profound effect of hypertension not only on the cardiovascular-renal axis but also on brain systems critically important for learning and memory. Future use of this model and approach may empower a more accurate investigation of the influence of aging on the systems responsible for cardiovascular, renal, and neurological health.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mari N. Willeman
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Neurogenomics DivisionThe Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)PhoenixArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| | - Monica K. Chawla
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| | - Marc A. Zempare
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| | - Lauren A Biwer
- Department of Basic Medical SciencesUniversity of ArizonaCollege of Medicine – PhoenixPhoenixArizona
| | - Lan T. Hoang
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| | - Ajay R. Uprety
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| | - Megan C. Fitzhugh
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
| | - Matthew De Both
- Neurogenomics DivisionThe Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)PhoenixArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| | - Paul D. Coleman
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease ResearchBiodesign InstituteArizona State UniversityTempeArizona
| | - Theodore P. Trouard
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Medical ImagingUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
| | - Gene E. Alexander
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Neuroscience and Physiological Sciences Graduate Interdisciplinary ProgramsUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
| | - Kenneth D. Mitchell
- Department of PhysiologyTulane University Health Sciences CenterNew OrleansLos Angeles
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
| | - Taben M. Hale
- Department of Basic Medical SciencesUniversity of ArizonaCollege of Medicine – PhoenixPhoenixArizona
| | - Matthew Huentelman
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain InstituteUniversity of ArizonaTucsonArizona
- Neurogenomics DivisionThe Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)PhoenixArizona
- Arizona Alzheimer's ConsortiumPhoenixArizona
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Kapellusch AJ, Lester AW, Schwartz BA, Smith AC, Barnes CA. Analysis of learning deficits in aged rats on the W-track continuous spatial alternation task. Behav Neurosci 2018; 132:512-519. [PMID: 30346190 PMCID: PMC6242720 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Young and aged animals were tested on a spatial alternation task that consisted of two interleaved components: (1) an "outbound" or alternation component (working memory) and (2) an "inbound" component, requiring the animal to remember to return to a central location in space (spatial memory). In the present study, aged rats made more outbound errors throughout testing, resulting in significantly more days to reach learning criterion, as compared to young rats. Furthermore, while all animals were able to learn the hippocampus-dependent inbound component of the task, most aged animals remained just above chance on the outbound component, even after extended testing days. Aged rats may be more impaired on the outbound part of the task because it requires cooperation of both the hippocampus and mPFC, each of which is compromised with age. In addition to presenting these results, we compare one commonly used analysis (repeated measures ANOVA) and two less common hierarchical modeling techniques (hierarchical generalized linear model and state-space random effects model) to determine the best method for comparing population learning over time. We found that hierarchical modeling is the most appropriate for this task and that a state-space model better captures the behavioral responses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adele J Kapellusch
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona
| | - Adam W Lester
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona
| | - Benjamin A Schwartz
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona
| | - Anne C Smith
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Division of Neural System, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Cowen SL, Gray DT, Wiegand JPL, Schimanski LA, Barnes CA. Age-associated changes in waking hippocampal sharp-wave ripples. Hippocampus 2018; 30:28-38. [PMID: 29981255 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.23005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 06/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Hippocampal sharp-wave ripples are brief high-frequency (120-250 Hz) oscillatory events that support mnemonic processes during sleep and awake behavior. Although ripples occurring during sleep are believed to facilitate memory consolidation, waking ripples may also be involved in planning and memory retrieval. Recent work from our group determined that normal aging results in a significant reduction in the peak oscillatory frequency and rate-of-occurrence of ripples during sleep that may contribute to age-associated memory decline. It is unknown, however, how aging alters waking ripples. We investigated whether characteristics of waking ripples undergo age-dependent changes. Sharp-wave ripple events were recorded from the CA1 region of the hippocampus in old (n = 5) and young (n = 6) F344 male rats as they performed a place-dependent eyeblink conditioning task. Several novel observations emerged from this analysis. First, although aged rats expressed more waking ripples than young rats during track running and reward consumption, this effect was eliminated, and, in the case of track-running, reversed when time spent in each location was accounted for. Thus, aged rats emit more ripples, but young rats express a higher ripple rate. This likely results from reduced locomotor activity in aged animals. Furthermore, although ripple rates increased as young rats approached rewards, rates did not increase in aged rats, and rates in aged and young animals were not affected by eyeblink conditioning. Finally, although the oscillatory frequency of ripples was lower in aged animals during rest, frequencies in aged rats increased during behavior to levels indistinguishable from young rats. Given the involvement of waking ripples in memory retrieval, a possible consequence of slower movement speeds of aged animals is to provide more opportunity to replay task-relevant information and compensate for age-related declines in ripple rate during task performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stephen L Cowen
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721
| | - Daniel T Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724
| | - Jean-Paul L Wiegand
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724
| | - Lesley A Schimanski
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724.,Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85721.,Departments of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, 85724
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Chawla MK, Gray DT, Nguyen C, Dhaliwal H, Zempare M, Okuno H, Huentelman MJ, Barnes CA. Seizure-Induced Arc mRNA Expression Thresholds in Rat Hippocampus and Perirhinal Cortex. Front Syst Neurosci 2018; 12:53. [PMID: 30443206 PMCID: PMC6221912 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2018.00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Immediate-early genes (IEGs) are rapidly and transiently induced following excitatory neuronal activity including maximal electroconvulsive shock treatment (ECT). The rapid RNA response can be blocked by the sodium channel antagonist tetrodotoxin (TTX), without blocking seizures, indicating a role for electrical stimulation in electroconvulsive shock-induced mRNA responses. In behaving animals, Arc mRNA is selectively transcribed following patterned neuronal activity and rapidly trafficked to dendrites where it preferentially accumulates at active synapses for local translation. Here we examined whether there is a relationship between the current intensities that elicit seizures and the threshold for Arc mRNA transcription in the rat hippocampus and perirhinal cortex (PRC). Animals received ECT of varying current intensities (0, 20, 40 65, 77 and 85 mA) and were sacrificed 5 min later. While significantly more CA1, CA3 and perirhinal pyramidal cells expressed Arc at the lowest stimulus intensity compared to granule cells, there was an abrupt threshold transition that occurred in all four regions at 77 mA. This precise threshold for Arc expression in all temporal lobe neurons examined may involve regulation of the calcium-dependent mechanisms that are upstream to activity-dependent IEG transcription.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monica K. Chawla
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Daniel T. Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Christie Nguyen
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Harshaan Dhaliwal
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Marc Zempare
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Hiroyuki Okuno
- Medical Innovation Center, Kyoto Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Matthew J. Huentelman
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Translational Genomics Research Institute, Neurogenomics Division, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Gray DT, Umapathy L, Burke SN, Trouard TP, Barnes CA. Tract-Specific White Matter Correlates of Age-Related Reward Devaluation Deficits in Macaque Monkeys. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 3:13-26. [PMID: 30198011 PMCID: PMC6126381 DOI: 10.17756/jnpn.2018-023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Aim: Cognitive aging is known to alter reward-guided behaviors that require interactions between the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and amygdala. In macaques, OFC, but not amygdala volumes decline with age and correlate with performance on a reward devaluation (RD) task. The present study used diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) methods to investigate whether the condition of the white matter associated with amygdala-OFC connectivity changes with age and relates to reward devaluation. Methods: Diffusion-, T1- and T2-weighted MRIs were acquired from adult and aged bonnet macaques. Using probabilistic tractography, fractional anisotropy (FA) estimates from two separate white matter tracts associated with amygdala-OFC connectivity, the uncinate fasciculus (UF) and amygdalofugal (AF) pathways, were obtained. Performance measures on RD and reversal learning (RL) tasks were also acquired and related to FA indices from each anatomical tract. Results: Aged monkeys were impaired on both the RD and RL tasks and had lower FA indices in the AF pathway. Higher FA indices from the right hemisphere UF pathway correlated with better performance on an object-based RD task, whereas higher FA indices from the right hemisphere AF were associated with better performance on an object-free version of the task. FA measures from neither tract correlated with RL performance. Conclusions: These results suggest that the condition of the white matter connecting the amygdala and OFC may impact reward devaluation behaviors. Furthermore, the observation that FA indices from the UF and AF differentially relate to reward devaluation suggests that the amygdala-OFC interactions that occur via these separate tracts are partially independent.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Gray
- Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Lavanya Umapathy
- Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Sara N Burke
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Theodore P Trouard
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Kyle CT, Permenter MR, Vogt JA, Rapp PR, Barnes CA. Behavioral Impact of Long-Term Chronic Implantation of Neural Recording Devices in the Rhesus Macaque. Neuromodulation 2018; 22:435-440. [PMID: 30016006 DOI: 10.1111/ner.12794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2018] [Revised: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Ensemble recording methods are pervasive in basic and clinical neuroscience research. Invasive neural implants are used in patients with drug resistant epilepsy to localize seizure origin, in neuropsychiatric or Parkinson's patients to alleviate symptoms via deep brain stimulation, and with animal models to conduct basic research. Studies addressing the brain's physiological response to chronic electrode implants demonstrate that the mechanical trauma of insertion is followed by an acute inflammatory response as well as a chronic foreign body response. Despite use of invasive recording methods with animal models and humans, little is known of their effect on behavior in healthy populations. OBJECTIVE To quantify the effect of chronic electrode implantation targeting the hippocampus on recognition memory performance. METHODS Four healthy female rhesus macaques were tested in a delayed nonmatching-to-sample (DNMS) recognition memory task before and after hippocampal implantation with a tetrode array device. RESULTS Trials to criterion and recognition memory performance were not significantly different before vs. after chronic electrode implantation. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that chronic implants did not produce significant impairments on DNMS performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Colin T Kyle
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Michele R Permenter
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Julie A Vogt
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Peter R Rapp
- Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, Biomedical Research Center, National Institute on Aging, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Division of Neural Systems, Memory, and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Ray S, Corenblum MJ, Anandhan A, Reed A, Ortiz FO, Zhang DD, Barnes CA, Madhavan L. A Role for Nrf2 Expression in Defining the Aging of Hippocampal Neural Stem Cells. Cell Transplant 2018; 27:589-606. [PMID: 29871525 PMCID: PMC6041888 DOI: 10.1177/0963689718774030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Redox mechanisms are emerging as essential to stem cell function given their capacity to
influence a number of important signaling pathways governing stem cell survival and
regenerative activity. In this context, our recent work identified the reduced expression
of nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2, or Nrf2, in mediating the decline in
subventricular zone neural stem progenitor cell (NSPC) regeneration during aging. Since
Nrf2 is a major transcription factor at the heart of cellular redox regulation and
homeostasis, the current study investigates the role that it may play in the aging of
NSPCs that reside within the other major mammalian germinal niche located in the
subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. Using rats from
multiple aging stages ranging from newborn to old age, and aging Nrf2 knockout mice, we
first determined that, in contrast with subventricular zone (SVZ) NSPCs, Nrf2 expression
does not significantly affect overall DG NSPC viability with age. However, DG NSPCs
resembled SVZ stem cells, in that Nrf2 expression controlled their proliferation and the
balance of neuronal versus glial differentiation particularly in relation to a specific
critical period during middle age. Also, importantly, this Nrf2-based control of NSPC
regeneration was found to impact functional neurogenesis-related hippocampal behaviors,
particularly in the Morris water maze and in pattern separation tasks. Furthermore, the
enrichment of the hippocampal environment via the transplantation of Nrf2-overexpressing
NSPCs was able to mitigate the age-related decline in DG stem cell regeneration during the
critical middle-age period, and significantly improved pattern separation abilities. In
summary, these results emphasize the importance of Nrf2 in DG NSPC regeneration, and
support Nrf2 upregulation as a potential approach to advantageously modulate DG NSPC
activity with age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S Ray
- 1 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,2 Undergraduate Biology Research Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,3 Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Undergraduate Program, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - M J Corenblum
- 1 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - A Anandhan
- 1 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - A Reed
- 1 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,3 Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Undergraduate Program, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - F O Ortiz
- 1 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,3 Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Undergraduate Program, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - D D Zhang
- 4 Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - C A Barnes
- 5 Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,6 Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - L Madhavan
- 1 Department of Neurology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,6 Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Burke SN, Gaynor LS, Barnes CA, Bauer RM, Bizon JL, Roberson ED, Ryan L. Shared Functions of Perirhinal and Parahippocampal Cortices: Implications for Cognitive Aging. Trends Neurosci 2018; 41:349-359. [PMID: 29555181 PMCID: PMC5970964 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2018.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2017] [Revised: 02/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
A predominant view of perirhinal cortex (PRC) and postrhinal/parahippocampal cortex (POR/PHC) function contends that these structures are tuned to represent objects and spatial information, respectively. However, known anatomical connectivity, together with recent electrophysiological, neuroimaging, and lesion data, indicate that both brain areas participate in spatial and nonspatial processing. Instead of content-based organization, the PRC and PHC/POR may participate in two computationally distinct cortical-hippocampal networks: one network that is tuned to process coarse information quickly, forming gist-like representations of scenes/environments, and a second network tuned to process information about the specific sensory details that are necessary for discrimination across sensory modalities. The available data suggest that the latter network may be more vulnerable in advanced age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara N Burke
- McKnight Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Institute on Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - Leslie S Gaynor
- McKnight Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Division of Neural Systems Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - Russell M Bauer
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Jennifer L Bizon
- McKnight Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Erik D Roberson
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Alzheimer's Disease Center, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, Departments of Neurology and Neurobiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
| | - Lee Ryan
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Comrie AE, Gray DT, Smith AC, Barnes CA. Different macaque models of cognitive aging exhibit task-dependent behavioral disparities. Behav Brain Res 2018; 344:110-119. [PMID: 29432794 PMCID: PMC5890935 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2018.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 02/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Deficits in cognitive functions that rely on the integrity of the frontal and temporal lobes are characteristic of normative human aging. Due to similar aging phenotypes and homologous cortical organization between nonhuman primates and humans, several species of macaque monkeys are used as models to explore brain senescence. These macaque species are typically regarded as equivalent models of cognitive aging, yet no direct comparisons have been made to support this assumption. Here we used adult and aged rhesus and bonnet macaques (Macaca mulatta and Macaca radiata) to characterize the effect of age on acquisition and retention of information across delays in a battery of behavioral tasks that rely on prefrontal cortex and medial temporal lobe networks. The cognitive functions that were tested include visuospatial short-term memory, object recognition memory, and object-reward association memory. In general, bonnet macaques at all ages outperformed rhesus macaques on tasks thought to rely primarily on the prefrontal cortex, and were more resilient to age-related deficits in these behaviors. On the other hand, both species were comparably impaired by age on tasks thought to preferentially engage the medial temporal lobe. Together, these results suggest that rhesus and bonnet macaques are not equivalent models of cognitive aging and highlight the value of cross-species comparisons. These observations should enable improved design and interpretation of future experiments aimed at understanding changes in cognition across the lifespan.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alison E Comrie
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA; Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
| | - Daniel T Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA; Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
| | - Anne C Smith
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA; Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA; Department of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Chawla MK, Sutherland VL, Olson K, McNaughton BL, Barnes CA. Behavior-driven arc expression is reduced in all ventral hippocampal subfields compared to CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus in rat dorsal hippocampus. Hippocampus 2018; 28:178-185. [PMID: 29232477 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2017] [Revised: 11/21/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Anatomical connectivity and lesion studies reveal distinct functional heterogeneity along the dorsal-ventral axis of the hippocampus. The immediate early gene Arc is known to be involved in neural plasticity and memory and can be used as a marker for cell activity that occurs, for example, when hippocampal place cells fire. We report here, that Arc is expressed in a greater proportion of cells in dorsal CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus (DG), following spatial behavioral experiences compared to ventral hippocampal subregions (dorsal CA1 = 33%; ventral CA1 = 13%; dorsal CA3 = 23%; ventral CA3 = 8%; and dorsal DG = 2.5%; ventral DG = 1.2%). The technique used here to obtain estimates of numbers of behavior-driven cells across the dorsal-ventral axis, however, corresponds quite well with samples from available single unit recording studies. Several explanations for the two- to-threefold reduction in spatial behavior-driven cell activity in the ventral hippocampus can be offered. These include anatomical connectivity differences, differential gain of the self-motion signals that appear to alter the scale of place fields and the proportion of active cells, and possibly variations in the neuronal responses to non-spatial information within the hippocampus along its dorso-ventral axis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M K Chawla
- ARL Div of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging and Evelyn F. McKnight Brain, Institute, Univ Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - V L Sutherland
- National Toxicology Program, NIEHS, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
| | - K Olson
- ARL Div of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging and Evelyn F. McKnight Brain, Institute, Univ Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - B L McNaughton
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4, Alberta.,Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University California, Irvine, 92697
| | - C A Barnes
- ARL Div of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging and Evelyn F. McKnight Brain, Institute, Univ Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Ianov L, De Both M, Chawla MK, Rani A, Kennedy AJ, Piras I, Day JJ, Siniard A, Kumar A, Sweatt JD, Barnes CA, Huentelman MJ, Foster TC. Hippocampal Transcriptomic Profiles: Subfield Vulnerability to Age and Cognitive Impairment. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:383. [PMID: 29276487 PMCID: PMC5727020 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The current study employed next-generation RNA sequencing to examine gene expression differences related to brain aging, cognitive decline, and hippocampal subfields. Young and aged rats were trained on a spatial episodic memory task. Hippocampal regions CA1, CA3, and the dentate gyrus were isolated. Poly-A mRNA was examined using two different sequencing platforms, Illumina, and Ion Proton. The Illumina platform was used to generate seed lists of genes that were statistically differentially expressed across regions, ages, or in association with cognitive function. The gene lists were then retested using the data from the Ion Proton platform. The results indicate hippocampal subfield differences in gene expression and point to regional differences in vulnerability to aging. Aging was associated with increased expression of immune response-related genes, particularly in the dentate gyrus. For the memory task, impaired performance of aged animals was linked to the regulation of Ca2+ and synaptic function in region CA1. Finally, we provide a transcriptomic characterization of the three subfields regardless of age or cognitive status, highlighting and confirming a correspondence between cytoarchitectural boundaries and molecular profiling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lara Ianov
- Departments of Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomics Program, Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.,Civitan International Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Matt De Both
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Monica K Chawla
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Asha Rani
- Departments of Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomics Program, Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Andrew J Kennedy
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Ignazio Piras
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Jeremy J Day
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Ashley Siniard
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Ashok Kumar
- Departments of Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomics Program, Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - J David Sweatt
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, United States.,Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.,Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Matthew J Huentelman
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, Phoenix, AZ, United States.,Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - Thomas C Foster
- Departments of Neuroscience and Genetics and Genomics Program, Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Abstract
The discovery of neuronal systems dedicated to computing spatial information, composed of functionally distinct cell types such as place and grid cells, combined with an extensive body of human-based behavioral and neuroimaging research has provided us with a detailed understanding of the brain's navigation circuit. In this review, we discuss emerging evidence from rodents, non-human primates, and humans that demonstrates how cognitive aging affects the navigational computations supported by these systems. Critically, we show 1) that navigational deficits cannot solely be explained by general deficits in learning and memory, 2) that there is no uniform decline across different navigational computations, and 3) that navigational deficits might be sensitive markers for impending pathological decline. Following an introduction to the mechanisms underlying spatial navigation and how they relate to general processes of learning and memory, the review discusses how aging affects the perception and integration of spatial information, the creation and storage of memory traces for spatial information, and the use of spatial information during navigational behavior. The closing section highlights the clinical potential of behavioral and neural markers of spatial navigation, with a particular emphasis on neurodegenerative disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam W Lester
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Scott D Moffat
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
| | - Jan M Wiener
- Department of Psychology, Ageing and Dementia Institute, Bournemouth University, Poole BH12 5BB, UK
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA; Departments of Psychology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
| | - Thomas Wolbers
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Aging and Cognition Research Group, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences (CBBS), 39118 Magdeburg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Han P, Nielsen M, Song M, Yin J, Permenter MR, Vogt JA, Engle JR, Dugger BN, Beach TG, Barnes CA, Shi J. The Impact of Aging on Brain Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide, Pathology and Cognition in Mice and Rhesus Macaques. Front Aging Neurosci 2017; 9:180. [PMID: 28659785 PMCID: PMC5467357 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its age-related effects are unknown. We chose the rhesus macaque due to its closeness to human anatomy and physiology. We examined four variables: aging, cognitive performance, amyloid plaques and PACAP. Delayed nonmatching-to-sample recognition memory scores declined with age and correlated with PACAP levels in the striatum, parietal and temporal lobes. Because amyloid plaques were the only AD pathology in the old rhesus macaque, we further studied human amyloid precursor protein (hAPP) transgenic mice. Aging was associated with decreased performance in the Morris Water Maze (MWM). In wild type (WT) C57BL/6 mice, the performance was decreased at age 24-26 month whereas in hAPP transgenic mice, it was decreased as early as 9-12 month. Neuritic plaques in adult hAPP mice clustered in hippocampus and adjacent cortical regions, but did not propagate further into the frontal cortex. Cerebral PACAP protein levels were reduced in hAPP mice compared to age-matched WT mice, but the genetic predisposition dominated cognitive decline. Taken together, these data suggest an association among PACAP levels, aging, cognitive function and amyloid load in nonhuman primates, with both similarities and differences from human AD brains. Our results suggest caution in choosing animal models and in extrapolating data to human AD studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pengcheng Han
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical CenterPhoenix, AZ, United States
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Resident Program, Medical University of South CarolinaCharleston, SC, United States
| | - Megan Nielsen
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical CenterPhoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Melissa Song
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical CenterPhoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Junxiang Yin
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical CenterPhoenix, AZ, United States
| | - Michele R. Permenter
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, United States
| | - Julie A. Vogt
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, United States
| | - James R. Engle
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, United States
- Evely F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of ArizonaTucson, AZ, United States
| | - Brittany N. Dugger
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of California, San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA, United States
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research InstituteSun City, AZ, United States
| | - Thomas G. Beach
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research InstituteSun City, AZ, United States
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- California National Primate Research Center, University of California, DavisDavis, CA, United States
- Evely F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of ArizonaTucson, AZ, United States
- Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of ArizonaTucson, AZ, United States
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, University of ArizonaTucson, AZ, United States
| | - Jiong Shi
- Department of Neurology, Barrow Neurological Institute, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical CenterPhoenix, AZ, United States
- Department of Neurology, Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General HospitalTianjin, China
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Hay M, Vanderah TW, Samareh-Jahani F, Constantopoulos E, Uprety AR, Barnes CA, Konhilas J. Cognitive impairment in heart failure: A protective role for angiotensin-(1-7). Behav Neurosci 2017; 131:99-114. [PMID: 28054808 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) have increased hospital readmission rates and mortality if they are concomitantly diagnosed with cognitive decline and memory loss. Accordingly, we developed a preclinical model of CHF-induced cognitive impairment with the goal of developing novel protective therapies against CHF related cognitive decline. CHF was induced by ligation of the left coronary artery to instigate a myocardial infarction (MI). By 4- and 8-weeks post-MI, CHF mice had approximately a 50% and 70% decline in ejection fraction as measured by echocardiography. At both 4- and 8-weeks post-MI, spatial memory performance in CHF mice as tested using the Morris water task was significantly impaired as compared with sham. In addition, CHF mice had significantly worse performance on object recognition when compared with shams as measured by discrimination ratios during the novel object recognition NOR task. At 8-weeks post-MI, a subgroup of CHF mice were given Angiotensin (Ang)-(1-7) (50mcg/kg/hr) subcutaneously for 4 weeks. Following 3 weeks treatment with systemic Ang-(1-7), the CHF mice NOR discrimination ratios were similar to shams and significantly better than the performance of CHF mice treated with saline. Ang-(1-7) also improved spatial memory in CHF mice as compared with shams. Ang-(1-7) had no effect on cardiac function. Inflammatory biomarker studies from plasma revealed a pattern of neuroprotection that may underlie the observed improvements in cognition. These results demonstrate a preclinical mouse model of CHF that exhibits both spatial memory and object recognition dysfunction. Furthermore, this CHF-induced cognitive impairment is attenuated by treatment with systemic Ang-(1-7). (PsycINFO Database Record
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Ajay R Uprety
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - John Konhilas
- Department of Physiology and Sarver Heart Center, University of Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Thomé A, Gray DT, Erickson CA, Lipa P, Barnes CA. Memory impairment in aged primates is associated with region-specific network dysfunction. Mol Psychiatry 2016; 21:1257-62. [PMID: 26503764 PMCID: PMC4848213 DOI: 10.1038/mp.2015.160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Revised: 06/26/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Age-related deficits in episodic memory result, in part, from declines in the integrity of medial temporal lobe structures, such as the hippocampus, but are not thought to be due to widespread loss of principal neurons. Studies in rodents suggest, however, that inhibitory interneurons may be particularly vulnerable in advanced age. Optimal encoding and retrieval of information depend on a balance of excitatory and inhibitory transmission. It is not known whether a disruption of this balance is observed in aging non-human primates, and whether such changes affect network function and behavior. To examine this question, we combine large-scale electrophysiological recordings with cell-type-specific imaging in the medial temporal lobe of cognitively assessed, aged rhesus macaques. We found that neuron excitability in the hippocampal region CA3 is negatively correlated with the density of somatostatin-expressing inhibitory interneurons in the vicinity of the recording electrodes in the stratum oriens. By contrast, no hyperexcitability or interneuron loss was observed in the perirhinal cortex of these aged, memory-impaired monkeys. These data provide a link, for the first time, between selective increases in principal cell excitability and declines in a molecularly defined population of interneurons that regulate network inhibition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Thomé
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | - Daniel T. Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | - Cynthia A. Erickson
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Department of Psychology, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Denver, CO
| | - Peter Lipa
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Departments of Psychology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Corenblum MJ, Ray S, Remley QW, Long M, Harder B, Zhang DD, Barnes CA, Madhavan L. Reduced Nrf2 expression mediates the decline in neural stem cell function during a critical middle-age period. Aging Cell 2016; 15:725-36. [PMID: 27095375 PMCID: PMC4933666 DOI: 10.1111/acel.12482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is known that the regenerative function of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) declines with age, causal mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are not understood. Here, we systematically analyze subventricular zone (SVZ) NSPCs, in various groups of rats across the aging spectrum, using in vitro and in vivo histological and behavioral techniques. These studies indicate that although NSPC function continuously declines with advancing age, there is a critical time period during middle age (13–15 months) when a striking reduction in NSPC survival and regeneration (proliferation and neuronal differentiation) occurs. The studies also indicate that this specific temporal pattern of NSPC deterioration is functionally relevant at a behavioral level and correlates with the decreasing expression of the redox‐sensitive transcription factor, Nrf2, in the NSPCs. When Nrf2 expression was suppressed in ‘young’ NSPCs, using short interfering RNAs, the survival and regeneration of the NSPCs was significantly compromised and mirrored ‘old’ NSPCs. Conversely, Nrf2 overexpression in ‘old’ NSPCs rendered them similar to ‘young’ NSPCs, and they showed increased survival and regeneration. Furthermore, examination of newborn Nrf2 knockout (Nrf2 −/−) mice revealed a lower number of SVZ NSPCs in these animals, when compared to wild‐type controls. In addition, the proliferative and neurogenic potential of the NSPCs was also compromised in the Nrf2−/− mice. These results identify a novel regulatory role for Nrf2 in NSPC function during aging and have important implications for developing NSPC‐based strategies to support healthy aging and to treat age‐related neurodegenerative disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sneha Ray
- Department of Neurology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Undergraduate Program Undergraduate Biology Research Program University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| | - Quentin W. Remley
- Department of Neurology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Undergraduate Program Undergraduate Biology Research Program University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| | - Min Long
- Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| | - Bryan Harder
- Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| | - Donna D. Zhang
- Pharmacology and Toxicology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Department of Neurology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
- Departments of Psychology & Neuroscience University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| | - Lalitha Madhavan
- Department of Neurology University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Gray DT, Smith AC, Burke SN, Gazzaley A, Barnes CA. Attentional updating and monitoring and affective shifting are impacted independently by aging in macaque monkeys. Behav Brain Res 2016; 322:329-338. [PMID: 27368416 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2016.06.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2016] [Revised: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
One hallmark of the normal cognitive aging process involves alterations in executive function. Executive function can be divided into at least three separable components, including set shifting, attentional updating and monitoring, and inhibition of prepotent responses. The ability to study the neural basis of cognitive aging has been enriched by the use of animal models such as the macaque monkey. In aged macaques, changes in attentional updating and monitoring systems are poorly understood compared to changes in shifting and inhibition. A partial explanation for this is the fact that the tasks designed to study executive function in aged monkeys, to date, primarily have probed shifting and inhibition processes. Here we examine how aging impacts attentional updating and monitoring processes in monkeys using an interference task designed after a paradigm used to examine multi-tasking in older humans. Young and aged macaque monkeys were tested on this interference task as well as on an object reversal learning task to study these processes in the same animals. Relative to the young monkeys, aged animals were impaired on both tasks. Proactive and retroactive interference did not differ between age groups on an array of 40 object pairs presented each day in the object reversal learning task. The levels of performance on the interference task were not correlated with levels of performance in the object reversal task. These results suggest that attentional updating and monitoring and affective shifting are separable functions in the macaque, and that normal aging affects these mental operations independently.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel T Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA; Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
| | - Anne C Smith
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
| | - Sara N Burke
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Adam Gazzaley
- Department of Neurology and Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA; Division of Neural System, Memory & Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA; Department of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Witharana WKL, Cardiff J, Chawla MK, Xie JY, Alme CB, Eckert M, Lapointe V, Demchuk A, Maurer AP, Trivedi V, Sutherland RJ, Guzowski JF, Barnes CA, McNaughton BL. Nonuniform allocation of hippocampal neurons to place fields across all hippocampal subfields. Hippocampus 2016; 26:1328-44. [PMID: 27273259 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The mechanisms governing how the hippocampus selects neurons to exhibit place fields are not well understood. A default assumption in some previous studies was the uniform random draw with replacement (URDWR) model, which, theoretically, maximizes spatial "pattern separation", and predicts a Poisson distribution of the numbers of place fields expressed by a given cell per unit area. The actual distribution of mean firing rates exhibited by a population of hippocampal neurons, however, is approximately exponential or log-normal in a given environment and these rates are somewhat correlated across multiple places, at least under some conditions. The advantage of neural activity-dependent immediate-early gene (IEG) analysis, as a proxy for electrophysiological recording, is the ability to obtain much larger samples of cells, even those whose activity is so sparse that they are overlooked in recording studies. Thus, a more accurate representation of the activation statistics can potentially be achieved. Some previous IEG studies that examined behavior-driven IEG expression in CA1 appear to support URDWR. There was, however, in some of the same studies, an under-recruitment of dentate gyrus granule cells, indicating a highly skewed excitability distribution, which is inconsistent with URDWR. Although it was suggested that this skewness might be related to increased excitability of recently generated granule cells, we show here that CA1, CA3, and subiculum also exhibit cumulative under-recruitment of neurons. Thus, a highly skewed excitability distribution is a general principle common to all major hippocampal subfields. Finally, a more detailed analysis of the frequency distributions of IEG intranuclear transcription foci suggests that a large fraction of hippocampal neurons is virtually silent, even during sleep. Whether the skewing of the excitability distribution is cell-intrinsic or a network phenomenon, and the degree to which this excitability is fixed or possibly time-varying are open questions for future studies. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- W K L Witharana
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - J Cardiff
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - M K Chawla
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - J Y Xie
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - C B Alme
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4.,Kavli Institute for System Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - M Eckert
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - V Lapointe
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - A Demchuk
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - A P Maurer
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
| | - V Trivedi
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - R J Sutherland
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4
| | - J F Guzowski
- Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine
| | - C A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - B L McNaughton
- Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, T1K 3M4. .,Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine.
| |
Collapse
|
43
|
Penner MR, Parrish RR, Hoang LT, Roth TL, Lubin FD, Barnes CA. Age-related changes in Egr1 transcription and DNA methylation within the hippocampus. Hippocampus 2016; 26:1008-20. [PMID: 26972614 DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Aged animals show functional alterations in hippocampal neurons that lead to deficits in synaptic plasticity and changes in cognitive function. Transcription of immediate-early genes (IEGs), including Egr1, is necessary for processes such as long-term potentiation and memory consolidation. Here, we show an age-related reduction in the transcription of Egr1 in the dentate gyrus following spatial behavior, whereas in the area CA1, Egr1 is reduced at rest, but its transcription can be effectively driven by spatial behavior to levels equivalent to those observed in adult animals. One mechanism possibly contributing to these aging-related changes is an age-associated, CpG site-specific change in methylation in DNA associated with the promoter region of the Egr1 gene. Our results add to a growing body of work demonstrating that complex transcriptional and epigenetic changes in the hippocampus significantly contribute to brain and cognitive aging. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M R Penner
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - R R Parrish
- Department of Neurobiology and Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - L T Hoang
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| | - T L Roth
- Department of Psychology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
| | - F D Lubin
- Department of Neurobiology and Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
| | - C A Barnes
- Evelyn F McKnight Brain Institute and Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.,Department Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Chance FS, Maurer AP, Burke SN, Barnes CA. Different weightings of input components to hippocampal CA1 place cells in young and aged rats. BMC Neurosci 2015. [PMCID: PMC4697471 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-16-s1-p10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
|
45
|
Gray DT, Barnes CA. Distinguishing adaptive plasticity from vulnerability in the aging hippocampus. Neuroscience 2015; 309:17-28. [PMID: 26255677 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2015.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2015] [Revised: 07/28/2015] [Accepted: 08/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Hippocampal circuits are among the best described networks in the mammalian brain, particularly with regard to the alterations that arise during normal aging. Decades of research indicate multiple points of vulnerability in aging neural circuits, and it has been proposed that each of these changes make a contribution to observed age-related cognitive deficits. Another view has been relatively overlooked - namely that some of these changes arise in adaptive response to protect network function in aged animals. This possibility leads to a rather different view on the biological variation of function in the brain of older individuals. Using the hippocampus as a model neural circuit we discuss how, in normally aged animals, some age-related changes may arise through processes of neural plasticity that serve to enhance network function rather than to hinder it. Conceptually disentangling the initial age-related vulnerabilities from changes that result in adaptive response will be a major challenge for the future research on brain aging. We suggest that a reformulation of how normal aging could be understood from an adaptive perspective will lead to a deeper understanding of the secrets behind successful brain aging and our recent cultural successes in facilitating these processes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- D T Gray
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States; ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States
| | - C A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States; ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory and Aging, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States; Department of Psychology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Cohan CH, Neumann JT, Dave KR, Alekseyenko A, Binkert M, Stransky K, Lin HW, Barnes CA, Wright CB, Perez-Pinzon MA. Effect of cardiac arrest on cognitive impairment and hippocampal plasticity in middle-aged rats. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0124918. [PMID: 25933411 PMCID: PMC4416883 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0124918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/13/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cardiopulmonary arrest is a leading cause of death and disability in the United States that usually occurs in the aged population. Cardiac arrest (CA) induces global ischemia, disrupting global cerebral circulation that results in ischemic brain injury and leads to cognitive impairments in survivors. Ischemia-induced neuronal damage in the hippocampus following CA can result in the impairment of cognitive function including spatial memory. In the present study, we used a model of asphyxial CA (ACA) in nine month old male Fischer 344 rats to investigate cognitive and synaptic deficits following mild global cerebral ischemia. These experiments were performed with the goals of 1) establishing a model of CA in nine month old middle-aged rats; and 2) to test the hypothesis that learning and memory deficits develop following mild global cerebral ischemia in middle-aged rats. To test this hypothesis, spatial memory assays (Barnes circular platform maze and contextual fear conditioning) and field recordings (long-term potentiation and paired-pulse facilitation) were performed. We show that following ACA in nine month old middle-aged rats, there is significant impairment in spatial memory formation, paired-pulse facilitation n dysfunction, and a reduction in the number of non-compromised hippocampal Cornu Ammonis 1 and subiculum neurons. In conclusion, nine month old animals undergoing cardiac arrest have impaired survival, deficits in spatial memory formation, and synaptic dysfunction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charles H. Cohan
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Jake T. Neumann
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Kunjan R. Dave
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Aleksey Alekseyenko
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Marc Binkert
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Kenneth Stransky
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Hung Wen Lin
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Carol A. Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute; ARL Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging; Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, United States of America
| | - Clinton B. Wright
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Miguel A. Perez-Pinzon
- Cerebral Vascular Disease Research Laboratories, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Department of Neurology, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- Neuroscience Program, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Samson RD, Venkatesh A, Lester AW, Weinstein AT, Lipa P, Barnes CA. Age differences in strategy selection and risk preference during risk-based decision making. Behav Neurosci 2015; 129:138-48. [PMID: 25664565 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Studies of the effects of aging on decision making suggest that choices can be altered in a variety of ways depending on the situation, the nature of the outcome and risk, or certainty levels. To better characterize how aging impacts decision making in rodents, young and aged Fischer 344 rats underwent a series of probabilistic discounting tasks in which reward magnitude and probabilities were manipulated. Young rats tended to choose 1 of 2 different strategies: (a) to press for the large/uncertain reward, regardless of the reward probability; or (b) to continually adapt their behavior according to the odds of winning. The first strategy was adopted by about half of the younger rats, the second by the remaining young animals and the entire group of aged rats. Additionally, we found that when the odds of winning were varied from uncertain to certain during a session, aged rats chose most often the lever associated with the small/certain reward. This is consistent with an interpretation of increased risk aversion. When this behavior was further characterized using a lose-shift analysis, it appears that older rats exhibited an increased sensitivity to negative feedback. In contrast, sensitivity to wins was unaltered in aged rats compared with young, suggesting that aging selectively impacts rat's behavior following losses. In line with some human aging studies, it appears that aged rats are either more risk averse or have a greater certainty bias, which may result from age differences in emotion regulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Anu Venkatesh
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - Adam W Lester
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | | | - Peter Lipa
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Samson RD, Venkatesh A, Patel DH, Lipa P, Barnes CA. Enhanced performance of aged rats in contingency degradation and instrumental extinction tasks. Behav Neurosci 2014; 128:122-33. [PMID: 24773433 DOI: 10.1037/a0035986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Normal aging in rats affects behavioral performance on a variety of associative learning tasks under Pavlovian conditions. There is little information, however, on whether aging also impacts performance of instrumental tasks. Young (9-12 months) and aged (24-27 months) Fisher 344 rats were trained to press distinct levers associated with either maltodextrin or sucrose. The rats in both age groups increased their lever press frequency at a similar rate, suggesting that the initial acquisition of this instrumental task is not affected by aging. Using a contingency degradation procedure, we then addressed whether aged rats could adapt their behavior to changes in action-outcome contingencies. We found that young and aged rats do adapt, but that a different schedule of reinforcement is necessary to optimize performance in each age group. Finally, we also addressed whether aged rats can extinguish a lever press action as well as young rats, using 2 40-min extinction sessions on consecutive days. While extinction profiles were similar in young and aged rats on the first day of training, aged rats were faster to extinguish their lever presses on the second day, in spite of their performance levels being similar at the beginning of the session. Together these data support the finding that acquisition of instrumental lever press behaviors is preserved in aged rats and suggest that they have a different threshold for switching strategies in response to changes in action-outcome associations. This pattern of result implies that age-related changes in the brain are heterogeneous and widespread across structures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Anu Venkatesh
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - Dhara H Patel
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - Peter Lipa
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, University of Arizona
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Burke SN, Barnes CA. The neural representation of 3-dimensional objects in rodent memory circuits. Behav Brain Res 2014; 285:60-6. [PMID: 25205370 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2014.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2014] [Revised: 08/22/2014] [Accepted: 09/01/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Three-dimensional objects are common stimuli that rodents and other animals encounter in the natural world that contribute to the associations that are the hallmark of explicit memory. Thus, the use of 3-dimensional objects for investigating the circuits that support associative and episodic memories has a long history. In rodents, the neural representation of these types of stimuli is a polymodal process and lesion data suggest that the perirhinal cortex, an area of the medial temporal lobe that receives afferent input from all sensory modalities, is particularly important for integrating sensory information across modalities to support object recognition. Not surprisingly, recent data from in vivo electrophysiological recordings have shown that principal cells within the perirhinal cortex are activated at locations of an environment that contain 3-dimensional objects. Interestingly, it appears that neural activity patterns related to object stimuli are ubiquitous across memory circuits and have now been observed in many medial temporal lobe structures as well as in the anterior cingulate cortex. This review summarizes behavioral and neurophysiological data that examine the representation of 3-dimensional objects across brain regions that are involved in memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara N Burke
- McKnight Brain Institute, United States of America; Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, United States of America
| | - Carol A Barnes
- Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, United States of America; Arizona Research Laboratories Division of Neural Systems, Memory & Aging, United States of America; Departments of Psychology, Neurology and Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, United States of America.
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Insel N, Barnes CA. Neuron population activity in the medial prefrontal cortex suggests superimposed codes for situation and situation value. BMC Neurosci 2014. [PMCID: PMC4126433 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2202-15-s1-p220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
|