Secreted amyloid precursor protein-α (sAPPα) is a neurotrophic and neuroprotective molecule which can enhance learning and synaptic plasticity. Aging is associated with memory decline and impaired long-term potentiation (LTP). SAPPα therefore has potential as a nootropic agent which could be used to offset age-related cognitive decline. In this study we investigated the effects of sAPPα on spatial memory tasks and LTP in aged and young Long-Evans rats. Two hippocampus-dependent tasks were employed to measure spatial memory that is susceptible to impairments during aging. Aged rats showed a mild deficit in the novel object location task, but memory was significantly enhanced by bilateral intrahippocampal injections of sAPPα. There was no effect on the performance of young animals. In the watermaze task, however, sAPPα did not alleviate age-related decline in spatial memory. In subsequent electrophysiological experiments, LTP was impaired in slices from aged animals, but plasticity was rescued in a concentration-dependent manner by exogenous sAPPα administration. In contrast, LTP was impaired in young animals by sAPPα. Overall, these data support the hypothesis that sAPPα has therapeutic potential as a treatment for age-related cognitive decline.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
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Other
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Unknown
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Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 10. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 19 August 2016.
All research outputs
#5,030,430
of 34,363,559 outputs
Outputs from Neurobiology of Learning & Memory
#265
of 1,640 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#60,090
of 334,932 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Neurobiology of Learning & Memory
#11
of 58 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 34,363,559 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 85th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,640 research outputs from this source. They typically receive more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 8.7. This one has done well, scoring higher than 83% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 58 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 81% of its contemporaries.
