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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 90/1/32    most recent 00105.2003v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Froc, D. J. Articles by Christie, B. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Froc, D. J. Articles by Christie, B. R.

Reduced Synaptic Plasticity in the Lateral Perforant Path Input to the Dentate Gyrus of Aged C57BL/6 Mice

Department of Psychology, The Neuroscience Program and The Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada

Submitted 4 February 2003; accepted in final form 3 March 2003

Hippocampal slices obtained from C57BL/6 mice (3–25 mo) were used to investigate the effects of aging on excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) elicited in dentate gyrus with lateral perforant path stimulation. The maximal amplitude of the EPSP, as well as the degree of paired-pulse facilitation, was significantly reduced in animals aged 12 mo or more compared with younger animals (<12 mo). Although all animals showed equivalent short-term potentiation (STP) in response to high-frequency stimulation, this did not translate into a long-lasting increase in synaptic efficacy in the older animals. A significant degree of long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic efficacy was only observed in animals <12 mo of age when measured 30 min after induction. Blocking GABA_A-mediated inhibition significantly enhanced STP in younger and older animals; however, a significant degree of LTP was again only observed in slices taken from younger animals. These data indicate that the lateral perforant path input to the dentate gyrus is altered by the aging process, and that this results in a reduction in the capacity of this input to exhibit long-lasting synaptic plasticity.