USE OF SEROTONINERGIC AGONISTS - 9,10-DIDEHYDRO-N, N-DIETHYL-6-METHYLERGOLINE-8-BETA-CARBOXAMIDE- ACUTE TREATMENT FOR RECOVERY AND COGNITIVE IMPROVEMENT IN RATS
Serotoninergic agonist, Serotonin, Aging, Cognition, Plasticity
The processes of aging lead to cognitive decay, evidenced by the deficit in working memory, attention and problem-solving. These changes are caused by a long list of physiological processes, including lower plasticity rate and decreased planting and dendritic spines. Further, studies show evidence that learning and memory are highly associated with plasticity rates and, thus, cognitive decline may be due to the loss of serotonin receptors over the ages. Research has shown that the application of serotonergic agonists (AS) can cause changes in brain function that persist long after the acute effects, induce gene expression related to synaptic plasticity and promote functional and structural neural plasticity. Thus, the aim of this project is to investigate whether different doses of a serotonin agonist - 9,10-didehydro-N, N-diethyl-6-methylergoline-8-beta-carboxamide (DBMC) - applied for different days improves learning in the task of object recognition in young animals (2-3 months of age), adults (8-10 months) and old (12-18 months). In addition, proteomic analysis will be used to identify the expression of related proteins and calcium imaging technique in a miniature fluorescence microscope (miniscope) to analyze the activity of neurons