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Impact of estrogen receptor alpha and beta agonists on delayed alternation in middle-aged rats.
- Source :
-
Hormones and behavior [Horm Behav] 2010 Nov; Vol. 58 (5), pp. 878-90. Date of Electronic Publication: 2010 Sep 15. - Publication Year :
- 2010
-
Abstract
- Estrogens act in the adult brain to modulate cognition, enhancing performance on some learning tests and impairing performance on others. Our previous research has revealed an impairing effect of chronic 17β-estradiol treatment in young and aged rats on a prefrontally-mediated working memory task, delayed spatial alternation (DSA). Little is known about the mechanisms of these impairing effects. The current study examined the effects of selective estrogen receptor (ER) α or ERβ activation on DSA performance in middle-aged female rats. Ovariectomized 12 month old Long-Evans (LE) rats were treated by subcutaneous injection with the ERα agonist propyl pyrazole triol (PPT) or the ERβ agonist diarylpropionitrile (DPN) at 0.02, 0.08, or 0.20mg/kg/day, or with oil vehicle and tested on an operant variable delay DSA task. A 17β-estradiol group (10% in cholesterol) was included as a positive control group. We replicated our previous finding of a 17β-estradiol induced deficit on DSA performance and this effect was paralleled by low dose (0.02mg/kg/day) DPN treatment. Higher doses of DPN failed to produce a significant change in performance. The highest dose of PPT (0.20mg/kg/day) also impaired performance, but this effect was subtle and limited to the longest delay during the final block of testing. These data confirm our earlier findings that chronic 17β-estradiol treatment has an impairing effect on the DSA task, and suggest that ERβ activation may underlie the deficit.<br /> (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Aging drug effects
Aging psychology
Animals
Behavior, Animal drug effects
Behavior, Animal physiology
Cognition drug effects
Cognition physiology
Conditioning, Operant drug effects
Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
Female
Memory, Short-Term physiology
Nitriles pharmacology
Phenols
Propionates pharmacology
Pyrazoles pharmacology
Rats
Rats, Long-Evans
Task Performance and Analysis
Aging physiology
Estrogen Receptor alpha agonists
Estrogen Receptor beta agonists
Memory, Short-Term drug effects
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators pharmacology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1095-6867
- Volume :
- 58
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Hormones and behavior
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20816967
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2010.08.017