Age-related changes in glutamate release in the CA3 and dentate gyrus of the rat hippocampus

Michelle L. Stephens, Jorge E. Quintero, Francois Pomerleau, Peter Huettl, Greg A. Gerhardt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

The present studies employed a novel microelectrode array recording technology to study glutamate release and uptake in the dentate gyrus, CA3 and CA1 hippocampal subregions in anesthetized young, late-middle aged and aged male Fischer 344 rats. The mossy fiber terminals in CA3 showed a significantly decreased amount of KCl-evoked glutamate release in aged rats compared to both young and late-middle-aged rats. Significantly more KCl-evoked glutamate release was seen from perforant path terminals in the DG of late-middle-aged rats compared young and aged rats. The DG of aged rats developed an increased glutamate uptake rate compared to the DG of young animals, indicating a possible age-related change in glutamate regulation to deal with increased glutamate release that occurred in late-middle age. No age-related changes in resting levels of glutamate were observed in the DG, CA3 and CA1. Taken together, these data support dynamic changes to glutamate regulation during aging in subregions of the mammalian hippocampus that are critical for learning and memory.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)811-820
Number of pages10
JournalNeurobiology of Aging
Volume32
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2011

Keywords

  • Hippocampus
  • L-Glutamate
  • Voltammetry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience (all)
  • Aging
  • Clinical Neurology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Geriatrics and Gerontology

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