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To understand the neuronal basis of age-related memory decline and to identify possible interventions, investigators examined neuronal firing rates and cAMP and ion-channel pathways in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in primates. Monkeys are useful for investigating the effects of aging because they do not develop dementias.
Six monkeys (2 young adults, 2 middle-aged, 2 old) were trained on a visuospatial working memory task that required looking at a cue, remembering its location, and looking there after a 2.5-second delay to receive a juice reward. The researchers directly measured the firing of neurons in area 46 (a DLPFC region), which are involved with visuospatial tasks. Various agonists and antagonists of cAMP and ion chann…