Memory and postsynaptic cholinergic receptors in aging mice.

Significant retention deficits were observed on passive avoidance tasks (step-down and step-through) in 15-, 20-, and 25-month-old male C57BL/6 mice compared with 4- and 8-month-old mice. In contrast, cholinergic muscarinic receptor binding ( [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate) in cerebral cortex, striatum, hippocampus, and cerebellum in these same animals revealed no difference in this 4- to 25-month age range. In a separate comparison of 4- and 29-month-old female mice, [3H]QNB binding was significantly decreased in the older group in cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and striatum. Environmental enrichment, compared with an impoverished environment, significantly improved retention in mice on 24-hr step-down performance but affected QNB binding only minimally (6-7% decrease of QNB binding in cerebral cortex and hippocampus). Benzodiazepine ( [3H]flunitrazepam) receptor binding was significantly (12-15%) decreased in 29-month-old mice compared with 4-month-old mice in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum, and brain stem.