Cognition, Behavior, and Memory
Author: Sofia Cervellini | email: soficervellini@gmail.com
Sofia Cervellini 1°, Franco Juan Cruz Dolcetti 1°, Macarena Lorena Herrera 2°, Eugenia Falomir-Lockhart 1°
1° INIBIOLP-CONICET, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, BA, Argentina.
2° IFEC-CONICET, UNC, Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
During aging, the central nervous system (CNS) undergoes a variety of morphological and functional changes. We are interested in studying glia in their natural environment and how aging affects their numbers and functions. Although glial cells are critical for CNS development and maintenance, there is little published research addressing their distribution in different brain regions across the lifespan. Most studies involve mice, which limits extrapolation of data to the rat. Our aim was to investigate how the number and morphology of microglial cells changes in naïve rats at different ages and whether there is a relationship with behavior. Behavioral tests were performed with female Sprague-Dawley rats at 2, 6, 12, and 24 months of age to examine depression-like behavior, short- and long-term memory, exploratory and anxiety-like behavior. We also analyzed immunoreactive Iba1 cells. We observed impaired spatial memory and anxiety- and depression-like behavior in 24-month-old rats compared with 6- and 12-month-old rats. As for microglia, there was a significant increase in the number of Iba1+ in the hippocampus and stratum radiatum in 24-month-old rats compared with 6-month-old rats. Morphology data showed a difference between young and old rats. Our results suggest that the behavior of female rats is age-dependent, as is the distribution and morphology of microglia. Further studies are needed to explore the phenotype and functions of microglial cells.