Age-related memory impairments due to reduced blood glucose responses to epinephrine

Abstract Increases in blood glucose levels are an important component of the mechanisms by which epinephrine enhances memory formation. The present experiments addressed the hypothesis that a dysfunction in the blood glucose response to circulating epinephrine contributes to age-related memory impai...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neurobiology of aging 2010-12, Vol.31 (12), p.2136-2145
Main Authors: Morris, Ken A, Chang, Qing, Mohler, Eric G, Gold, Paul E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetylcholine
Acetylcholine - secretion
Aging
Aging - metabolism
Aging - physiology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Blood Glucose - metabolism
Blood Glucose - physiology
Development. Senescence. Regeneration. Transplantation
Disease Models, Animal
Down-Regulation - drug effects
Down-Regulation - physiology
Epinephrine - administration & dosage
Epinephrine - physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Inhibitory avoidance
Internal Medicine
Male
Memory - drug effects
Memory - physiology
Memory Disorders - metabolism
Memory Disorders - psychology
Memory enhancement
Memory impairment
Memory loss
Neurology
Rapid forgetting
Rats
Rats, Inbred F344
Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs
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Summary:Abstract Increases in blood glucose levels are an important component of the mechanisms by which epinephrine enhances memory formation. The present experiments addressed the hypothesis that a dysfunction in the blood glucose response to circulating epinephrine contributes to age-related memory impairments. Doses of epinephrine and glucagon that significantly increased blood glucose levels in young adult rats were far less effective at doing so in 2-year-old rats. In young rats, epinephrine and glucose were about equally effective in enhancing memory and in prolonging post-training release of acetylcholine in the hippocampus. However, glucose was more effective than epinephrine in enhancing both memory and acetylcholine release in aged rats. These results suggest that an uncoupling between circulating epinephrine and glucose levels in old rats may lead to an age-related reduction in the provision of glucose to the brain during training. This in turn may contribute to age-related changes in memory and neural plasticity.
ISSN:0197-4580
1558-1497
DOI:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.12.003