# SYNAPTIC SUBSTRATES OF AGE-RELATED MEMORY DYSFUNCTION

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 1990 · $144,555

## Abstract

A disturbance of recent memory or the retention of newly acquired
information is one of the fundamental features of aging.  The central goal
of the proposed experiments is the further delineation of the types of
memory that decline with age and the understanding of the mechanism of such
decline at the synaptic level of analysis.  An animal model of age-related
memory dysfunction has been identified in the Fischer 344 rat.  Two-thirds
of aged members of this species develop an impairment in spatial memory
having characteristics similar to human amnesias.  As in the human
amnesias, the rodent memory loss is associated with disturbance of function
in the hippocampal formation.  The proposed research employs behavioral,
electrophysiological and quantitative electron microscopic techniques to
examine the neurobiological basis of the age-related memory deficit.  Using
a circuit analysis approach, the experiments are designed to examine age-
related alterations in synaptic connectivity in the tri-synaptic
hippocampal circuit as well as in a non-hippocampal cortical area as a
control.  Changes in synaptic connectivity could alter the flow of
information through the hippocampal formation and result in memory
dysfunction.  The individual differences in memory function observed among
aged Fischer 344 rats provides an excellent model for investigating the
synaptic substrates of normal memory function, as well as its decline.  A
related purpose of the research is to investigate, at the synaptic level,
why newly acquired information is lost rapidly with age.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3120545
- **Project number:** 5R01AG008794-02
- **Recipient organization:** RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **SAM.gov UEI:** C155UU2TXCP3
- **Principal Investigator:** LEYLA DE TOLEDO-MORRELL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1990
- **Award amount:** $144,555
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1989-06-01 → 1992-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3120545

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3120545, SYNAPTIC SUBSTRATES OF AGE-RELATED MEMORY DYSFUNCTION (5R01AG008794-02). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3120545. Licensed CC0.

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