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GABA and Its Agonists Improved Visual Cortical Function in Senescent Monkeys
Audie G. Leventhal,1*Yongchang Wang,1Mingliang Pu,1Yifeng Zhou,2Yuanye Ma3
Human cerebral cortical function degrades during old age. Muchof this change may result from a degradation of intracorticalinhibition during senescence. We used multibarreled microelectrodesto study the effects of electrophoretic application of -aminobutyricacid (GABA), the GABA type a (GABAa) receptor agonist muscimol,and the GABAa receptor antagonist bicuculline, respectively,on the properties of individual V1 cells in old monkeys. Bicucullineexerted a much weaker effect on neuronal responses in old thanin young animals, confirming a degradation of GABA-mediatedinhibition. On the other hand, the administration of GABA andmuscimol resulted in improved visual function. Many treatedcells in area V1 of old animals displayed responses typicalof young cells. The present results have important implicationsfor the treatment of the sensory, motor, and cognitive declinesthat accompany old age.
1 Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA. 2 School of Life Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230027, China. 3 Laboratory of Primate Cognitive Neuroscience, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: audie.leventhal{at}m.cc.utah.edu
Degradation of Signal Timing in Cortical Areas V1 and V2 of Senescent Monkeys.
Y. Wang, Y. Zhou, Y. Ma, and A. G. Leventhal (2005)
Cereb Cortex
15, 403-408
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Increased Action Potential Firing Rates of Layer 2/3 Pyramidal Cells in the Prefrontal Cortex are Significantly Related to Cognitive Performance in Aged Monkeys.
Y.-M. Chang, D. L. Rosene, R. J. Killiany, L. A. Mangiamele, and J. I. Luebke (2005)
Cereb Cortex
15, 409-418
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Age-related reduction in microcolumnar structure in area 46 of the rhesus monkey correlates with behavioral decline.
L. Cruz, D. L. Roe, B. Urbanc, H. Cabral, H. E. Stanley, and D. L. Rosene (2004)
PNAS
101, 15846-15851
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Nuns and Monkeys: Investigating the Behavior of our Oldest Old.
-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the GABA type a (GABAa) receptor agonist muscimol, and the GABAa receptor antagonist bicuculline, respectively, on the properties of individual V1 cells in old monkeys. Bicuculline exerted a much weaker effect on neuronal responses in old than in young animals, confirming a degradation of GABA-mediated inhibition. On the other hand, the administration of GABA and muscimol resulted in improved visual function. Many treated cells in area V1 of old animals displayed responses typical of young cells. The present results have important implications for the treatment of the sensory, motor, and cognitive declines that accompany old age. 
