Abstract
Melatonin, the pineal indole is characterized by being a compound that crosses all cell membranes and which has been attributed to several mechanisms of action. Among these it is the ability to reduce free radicals, thereby reducing the potential aging and cell death. Studies in different age Wistar rats have shown that chronic application of melatonin, in the hippocampus, reduces the concentration of free radicals and keeps its architecture. This study showed that melatonin increases the firing rate and favors the presence of bursting activity in animals of different ages. It is suggested that melatonin conserved hippocampal cells in good anatomical and physiological condition probably as a result of the elimination of free radicals.
Highlights
Aging is a progressive and complex procedure during life that includes gradual cellular loss, endocrine and metabolic deficits, decreasing defense mechanisms and functional losses [1], which contributes to health deterioration and to death with the passage of time
This paper argues that if melatonin reduces free radicals and keeps in “good anatomical condition” to the hippocampus it must maintain the electrophysiological activity of its cells properly which is raised to analyze the effect of the hormone on the unitary, spontaneous electrical activity of the hippocampus at different ages
In the CA1 area of control rats were obtained discharge patterns with unique spikes while in the same area, the melatonin-treated rats, this pattern, showed a shift in the timing of spontaneous activity with a phasic pattern trend generated by trains of activity and unitary activity
Summary
Aging is a progressive and complex procedure during life that includes gradual cellular loss, endocrine and metabolic deficits, decreasing defense mechanisms and functional losses [1], which contributes to health deterioration and to death with the passage of time. During this process there is a general decline in nervous system functions due to structural, molecular, biochemical and physiological changes [2]. Physiological changes in the aged brain could be expressed as the decline in the neuronal tissue physicological activity, for example, changes in spontaneous multiple-unit activity can be considered as a measure of neural impairment and as an important parameter of electrophysiological ageing and decrement in neurological functions [2]
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