Although aging is often believed to be linked to cognitive decline, some elderly humans maintain cognitive function that is comparable to young adults (Rowe, J. W. & Kahn, R. L., 1987). In rats, variations in cognitive performance due to age are frequently assessed in tests of spatial abilities such as the Morris water maze (Issa, A. M., Rowe, W., Gauthier, S., & Meaney, M. J., 1990; Quirion, R. et al., 1995; Aubert, I., Rowe, W., Meaney, M. J., Gauthier, S., & Quirion, R., 1995). BIBN 99, a highly specific M2 receptor antagonist, reverses impaired ACh release as well as the cognitive deficits of aged, impaired (AI) rats observed in the Morris water maze (Aubert, I., Rowe, W., Meaney, M. J., Gauthier, S., & Quirion, R., 1995; Quirion, R. et al., 1995). To further characterize the potential benefits of BIBN 99, we tested (AI), aged, cognitively unimpaired (AU) and young (Y) rats in an object recognition task (ORT) and pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle (PPI). Both groups of vehicle-treated aged animals demonstrated reduced exploratory activity in the ORT compared to Y vehicle-treated animals. However, pre-treatment with BIBN 99 (0.5mg/kg) increased overall exploration time in AI and AU animals while having no effect in the Y group. In contrast, BIBN 99 had no effect on PPI in any of the groups. While these results are inconclusive concerning support for the potential relevance of BIBN 99 in the treatment of cognitive disorders, further research is warranted.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.33436 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Pearson, Debra Marie. |
| Contributors | Quirion, Remi (advisor), Rochford, Joseph (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Division of Neuroscience.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001771358, proquestno: MQ70743, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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