Cargando…

Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory

The current longitudinal study examined factors (sex, physical function, response to novelty, ability to adapt to a shift in light/dark cycle, brain connectivity), which might predict the emergence of impaired memory during aging. Male and female Fisher 344 rats were tested at 6, 12, and 18 months o...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Febo, Marcelo, Rani, Asha, Yegla, Brittney, Barter, Jolie, Kumar, Ashok, Wolff, Christopher A., Esser, Karyn, Foster, Thomas C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7044155/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32153384
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2020.00034
_version_ 1783501506677309440
author Febo, Marcelo
Rani, Asha
Yegla, Brittney
Barter, Jolie
Kumar, Ashok
Wolff, Christopher A.
Esser, Karyn
Foster, Thomas C.
author_facet Febo, Marcelo
Rani, Asha
Yegla, Brittney
Barter, Jolie
Kumar, Ashok
Wolff, Christopher A.
Esser, Karyn
Foster, Thomas C.
author_sort Febo, Marcelo
collection PubMed
description The current longitudinal study examined factors (sex, physical function, response to novelty, ability to adapt to a shift in light/dark cycle, brain connectivity), which might predict the emergence of impaired memory during aging. Male and female Fisher 344 rats were tested at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. Impaired spatial memory developed in middle-age (12 months), particularly in males, and the propensity for impairment increased with advanced age. A reduced response to novelty was observed over the course of aging, which is inconsistent with cross-sectional studies. This divergence likely resulted from differences in the history of environmental enrichment/impoverishment for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Animals that exhibited lower level exploration of the inner region on the open field test exhibited better memory at 12 months. Furthermore, males that exhibited a longer latency to enter a novel environment at 6 months, exhibited better memory at 12 months. For females, memory at 12 months was correlated with the ability to behaviorally adapt to a shift in light/dark cycle. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, conducted at 12 months, indicated that the decline in memory was associated with altered functional connectivity within different memory systems, most notably between the hippocampus and multiple regions such as the retrosplenial cortex, thalamus, striatum, and amygdala. Overall, some factors, specifically response to novelty at an early age and the capacity to adapt to shifts in light cycle, predicted spatial memory in middle-age, and spatial memory is associated with corresponding changes in brain connectivity. We discuss similarities and differences related to previous longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, as well as the role of sex differences in providing a theoretical framework to guide future longitudinal research on the trajectory of cognitive decline. In addition to demonstrating the power of longitudinal studies, these data highlight the importance of middle-age for identifying potential predictive indicators of sexual dimorphism in the trajectory in brain and cognitive aging.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7044155
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-70441552020-03-09 Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory Febo, Marcelo Rani, Asha Yegla, Brittney Barter, Jolie Kumar, Ashok Wolff, Christopher A. Esser, Karyn Foster, Thomas C. Front Aging Neurosci Neuroscience The current longitudinal study examined factors (sex, physical function, response to novelty, ability to adapt to a shift in light/dark cycle, brain connectivity), which might predict the emergence of impaired memory during aging. Male and female Fisher 344 rats were tested at 6, 12, and 18 months of age. Impaired spatial memory developed in middle-age (12 months), particularly in males, and the propensity for impairment increased with advanced age. A reduced response to novelty was observed over the course of aging, which is inconsistent with cross-sectional studies. This divergence likely resulted from differences in the history of environmental enrichment/impoverishment for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. Animals that exhibited lower level exploration of the inner region on the open field test exhibited better memory at 12 months. Furthermore, males that exhibited a longer latency to enter a novel environment at 6 months, exhibited better memory at 12 months. For females, memory at 12 months was correlated with the ability to behaviorally adapt to a shift in light/dark cycle. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, conducted at 12 months, indicated that the decline in memory was associated with altered functional connectivity within different memory systems, most notably between the hippocampus and multiple regions such as the retrosplenial cortex, thalamus, striatum, and amygdala. Overall, some factors, specifically response to novelty at an early age and the capacity to adapt to shifts in light cycle, predicted spatial memory in middle-age, and spatial memory is associated with corresponding changes in brain connectivity. We discuss similarities and differences related to previous longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, as well as the role of sex differences in providing a theoretical framework to guide future longitudinal research on the trajectory of cognitive decline. In addition to demonstrating the power of longitudinal studies, these data highlight the importance of middle-age for identifying potential predictive indicators of sexual dimorphism in the trajectory in brain and cognitive aging. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-02-20 /pmc/articles/PMC7044155/ /pubmed/32153384 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2020.00034 Text en Copyright © 2020 Febo, Rani, Yegla, Barter, Kumar, Wolff, Esser and Foster. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Febo, Marcelo
Rani, Asha
Yegla, Brittney
Barter, Jolie
Kumar, Ashok
Wolff, Christopher A.
Esser, Karyn
Foster, Thomas C.
Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory
title Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory
title_full Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory
title_fullStr Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory
title_full_unstemmed Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory
title_short Longitudinal Characterization and Biomarkers of Age and Sex Differences in the Decline of Spatial Memory
title_sort longitudinal characterization and biomarkers of age and sex differences in the decline of spatial memory
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7044155/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32153384
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2020.00034
work_keys_str_mv AT febomarcelo longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT raniasha longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT yeglabrittney longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT barterjolie longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT kumarashok longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT wolffchristophera longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT esserkaryn longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory
AT fosterthomasc longitudinalcharacterizationandbiomarkersofageandsexdifferencesinthedeclineofspatialmemory