Morphological Substrates of Age-Related Memory Loss
{'Code': '08090200', 'Directorate': {'Abbreviation': 'BIO', 'LongName': 'Direct For Biological Sciences'}, 'Division': {'Abbreviation': 'IOS', 'LongName': 'Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems'}}
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Impairment of memory is one of the most common and most                         perplexing signs of aging.  The goal of this research project is                to gain an understanding of the nature of how these memory                      deficits occur with advancing age.  Drs. Morrell and deToledo                   Morrell are using an animal model of aging--a strain of rat which               has a specific and identifiable memory impairment which occurs as               the animal approaches the end of its expected lifetime:  These                  animals show progressive performance deficits in their ability to               learn spatial cues as they age.                                                                                                                                 One of the most promising areas of research regarding the                       location in which memories are formed is the hippocampal                        formation, a region of the limbic forebrain which has been shown                to be involved both in human and in animal memory functions.  The               nature of this memory deficit is being extensively characterized                by the use of both spatial and non-spatial tasks (spatial tasks                 appear to be dependent upon a functional hippocampal formation,                 whereas non-spatial tasks are not).  This specific deficit is                   measured by performance in a radial arm maze, a spatial task.                                                                                                   An interdisciplinary team of investigators is exploring three                   major correlates of this memory deficit, by examining changes in:                                                                                                    1) synaptic morphology (the locus of connections between                        nerve cells).  Modification of synaptic circuitry is                            examined in several sub-fields within the hippocampal                           formation by using new stereological methods of electron                        microscopy.                                                                                                                                                     2) long term potentiation an electrophysiological correlate                     of synaptic plasticity), and                                                                                                                                    3) receptor biochemistry (by quantitative autoradiographic                      techniques which identify biological markers of the age-                        related memory loss).                                                                                                                                      Finally, these investigators are examining the mechanism by which               a new drug (pentoxifylling) appears to be capable of at least                   partially reversing this age-related memory loss.  Research at                  this level contributes not only to our understanding of the                     processes by which learning and memory occur, but also provides                 insights into the basic physiological mechanisms by which these                 processes decline with age.
[{'FirstName': 'Frank', 'LastName': 'Morrell', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Frank Morrell', 'EmailAddress': None, 'NSF_ID': '000185597', 'StartDate': '06/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Principal Investigator'}, {'FirstName': 'Leyla', 'LastName': 'de Toledo-Morrell', 'PI_MID_INIT': None, 'PI_SUFX_NAME': None, 'PI_FULL_NAME': 'Leyla de Toledo-Morrell', 'EmailAddress': '3129425939', 'NSF_ID': '000316163', 'StartDate': '06/01/1988', 'EndDate': None, 'RoleCode': 'Co-Principal Investigator'}]
{'Name': 'RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER', 'CityName': 'CHICAGO', 'ZipCode': '606123833', 'PhoneNumber': '3129425479', 'StreetAddress': '1653 W CONGRESS PKWY', 'StreetAddress2': None, 'CountryName': 'United States', 'StateName': 'Illinois', 'StateCode': 'IL', 'CONGRESSDISTRICT': '07', 'CONGRESS_DISTRICT_ORG': 'IL07', 'ORG_UEI_NUM': 'C155UU2TXCP3', 'ORG_LGL_BUS_NAME': 'RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER', 'ORG_PRNT_UEI_NUM': None}
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{'Code': '1161', 'Text': 'NEUROBIOLO OF LEARNING & MEMOR'}
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