GABA and its agonists improved visual cortical function in senescent monkeys
GABA and its agonists improved visual cortical function in senescent monkeys
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1082874
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发表时间：
2003-05-02
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Ma, YY
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Leventhal, AG;Wang, YC;Ma, YY
人的大脑皮层功能在老年时会退化。这种变化很大程度上可能是由于衰老过程中皮质内抑制作用的退化所致。我们用多管微电极研究了电泳法分别应用γ-氨基丁酸(GABA)、GABAA受体激动剂蝇草酚和GABAA受体拮抗剂荷包牡丹碱对老年猴单个V1细胞特性的影响。荷包牡丹碱对老年动物的神经元反应的影响比年轻动物弱得多，证实了GABA介导的抑制作用的降解。另一方面，服用GABA和麝香酚可以改善视觉功能。在老年动物的V1区，许多处理过的细胞表现出年轻细胞的典型反应。目前的研究结果对治疗老年伴随的感觉、运动和认知功能衰退具有重要意义。
Human cerebral cortical function degrades during old age. Much of this change may result from a degradation of intracortical inhibition during senescence. We used multibarreled microelectrodes to study the effects of electrophoretic application of gamma-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.