24 - Rodent Models of Age-Related Memory Impairments

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the behavior of rodent models of age-related memory impairments. In characterizing the effects of aging on memory processes in humans, each and every review is sure to deal with the issue of diversity. Age-related loss in memory function usually occurs with old age, but the degree of functional decline is highly dependent on the component of memory processing being assessed. Aged individuals greatly differ in the degree of memory impairment observed in any particular component of memory processing. Besides these, it has become increasingly apparent that memory impairments observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) differ from those observed in normal aging. The chapter also describes that the degree of age-related decline observed in a memory task is greatly dependent upon the task and the specific parameters of the task. Aged rodents can have degenerated retina which can have a severe impact upon visual abilities in a maze. Another important complication for producing rodent models is that the tasks do not translate well into theoretical models of human memory processes.