Skip Navigation



Cerebral Cortex Advance Access published online on August 18, 2004
Cerebral Cortex, doi:10.1093/cercor/bhh158
© 2004 by Oxford University Press
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
15/5/571    most recent
bhh158v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Shi, L.
Right arrow Articles by Brunso-Bechtold, J. K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Shi, L.
Right arrow Articles by Brunso-Bechtold, J. K.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Article

Differential Effects of Aging and Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 on Synapses in CA1 of Rat Hippocampus

Lei Shi 1*, Martha Constance Linville 1, Elizabeth Winans Tucker 1, William Edmund Sonntag 2, Judy Karen Brunso-Bechtold 3

1 Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1010, USA
2 Neuroscience Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1010, USA; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1010, USA
3 Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1010, USA; Neuroscience Program, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1010, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lshi{at}wfubmc.edu.


  Abstract

Aging-related impairments of learning and memory can be ameliorated by 28 days of intracerebroventricular (icv) infusion of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in old rats. The present study investigated whether there is an aging-related synaptic decline in the stratum radiatum of hippocampal CA1 and whether IGF-1 can ameliorate that decline. Five young (4 months), five middle-aged (18 months) and five old (29 months) Fischer 344xBrown Norway rats received saline infusion; five old (29 months) rats received IGF-1 infusion for 28 days preceding sacrifice. Pyramidal neurons, total synaptic profiles as well as synaptic profiles in multiple spine bouton (MSB) complexes in CA1 were quantified stereologically with the physical disector technique and the postsynaptic density (PSD) length was determined as well. The results indicated a decrease of total synapses between middle and old age but a maintenance of PSD length and MSB synapses throughout life. IGF-1 infusion in old rats did not reverse the aging-related decline in total synapses but did increase PSD length and the number of MSB synapses. These changes in synaptic configurations are morphological correlates of enhanced synaptic efficacy. Thus, aging and IGF-1 affect different, but complementary, aspects of synapses in hippocampal CA1.

Keywords: MSB complex; plasticity; PSD length; quantitative EM; stereology.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab.Home page
W. E. Sonntag, C. Bennett, R. Ingram, A. Donahue, J. Ingraham, H. Chen, T. Moore, J. K. Brunso-Bechtold, and D. Riddle
Growth hormone and IGF-I modulate local cerebral glucose utilization and ATP levels in a model of adult-onset growth hormone deficiency
Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, September 1, 2006; 291(3): E604 - E610.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.