Increased brain cytokine level associated impairment of vigilance and memory in aged rats can be alleviated by alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist treatment.

ABSTRACT: Age-related neurocognitive disorders are common problems in developed societies. Aging not only affects memory processes, but may also disturb attention, vigilance, and other executive functions. In the present study, we aimed to investigate age-related cognitive deficits in rats and associated molecular alterations in the brain. We also aimed to test the effects of the alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) agonist PHA-543613 on memory as well as on the sustained attention and vigilance of aged rats. Short- and long-term spatial memories of the rats were tested using the Morris water maze (MWM) task. To measure attention and vigilance, we designed a rat version of the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) that is frequently used in human clinical examinations. At the end of the behavi

SUBMITTER: Bali ZK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10828177 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature