Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026

Preparation of Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rats and Transgenic Mice for the Study of Synaptic Alterations during Aging and Amyloid Pathology
Published on: March 23, 2011
Peripheral infection and aging interact to impair hippocampal memory consolidation
Ruth M Barrientos1, Emily A Higgins, Joseph C Biedenkapp
1Department of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Campus Box 345, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, USA. rbarr@psych.colorado.edu
Abstract:
We report that a peripheral injection of Escherichia coli produces both anterograde and retrograde amnesia in 24 month old, but not 3 month old rats for memories that depend on the hippocampus, that is, memory of context, contextual fear, and place learning. The anterograde effect was restricted to measures of long-term memory. Short-term memory was not affected, nor did E. coli produce amnesia for auditory-cue fear conditioning. There were no age related effects on memory in vehicle-treated rats. In addition to these age-related cognitive effects of E.coli, we report that it produced a marked increased in IL-1beta levels in the hippocampus, but not in parietal cortex or serum. These findings support the hypothesis that age is a vulnerability factor that increases the likelihood that an immune challenge will produce a cognitive impairment. It is possible that this cognitive vulnerability is mediated by age-related changes in the glial environment that results in an exaggerated brain pro-inflammatory response to infection.
Related Concept Videos
Role of Hippocampus in Memory
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Interference and Decay
Interference occurs when competing memories hinder the retrieval of particular information. It can be classified into two types: proactive and retroactive interference. Proactive...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Dementia l: Introduction

