Browsing by Author "Zegarra-Valdivia, Jonathan A."
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Cognitive Deficits in Aging Related to Changes in Basal Forebrain Neuronal Activity.(Cells, 2023) Chaves-Coira, Irene; García Magro, Nuria; Zegarra-Valdivia, Jonathan A.; Torres-Alemán, Ignacio; Núñez, ÁngelAging is a physiological process accompanied by a decline in cognitive performance. The cholinergic neurons of the basal forebrain provide projections to the cortex that are directly engaged in many cognitive processes in mammals. In addition, basal forebrain neurons contribute to the generation of different rhythms in the EEG along the sleep/wakefulness cycle. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of recent advances grouped around the changes in basal forebrain activity during healthy aging. Elucidating the underlying mechanisms of brain function and their decline is especially relevant in today’s society as an increasingly aged population faces higher risks of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. The profound age-related cognitive deficits and neurodegenerative diseases associated with basal forebrain dysfunction highlight the importance of investigating the aging of this brain region.Item Response Facilitation Induced by Insulin-like Growth Factor-I in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex of MiceWas Reduced in Aging.(Cells, 2022) García Magro, Nuria; Zegarra-Valdivia, Jonathan A.; Troyas-Martinez, Sara; Torres-Aleman, Ignacio; Nuñez, AngelAging is accompanied by a decline in cognition that can be due to a lower IGF-I level. We studied response facilitation induced in primary somatosensory (S1) cortical neurons by repetitive stimulation of whiskers in young and old mice. Layer 2/3 and 5/6 neurons were extracellularly recorded in young ( 6 months of age) and old ( 20 month of age) anesthetized mice. IGF-I injection in S1 cortex (10 nM; 0.2 L) increased whisker responses in young and old animals. A stimulation train at 8 Hz induced a long-lasting response facilitation in only layer 2/3 neurons of young animals. However, all cortical neurons from young and old animals showed long-lasting response facilitation when IGF-I was applied in the S1 cortex. The reduction in response facilitation in old animals can be due to a reduction in the IGF-I receptors as was indicated by the immunohistochemistry study. Furthermore, a reduction in the performance of a whisker discrimination task was observed in old animals. In conclusion, our findings indicate that there is a reduction in the synaptic plasticity of S1 neurons during aging that can be recovered by IGF-I. Therefore, it opens the possibility of use IGF-I as a therapeutic tool to ameliorate the effects of heathy aging.