Age-related differences in distractibility and response to methylphenidate in monkeys

Cerebral Cortex
M A PrendergastJerry J Buccafusco

Abstract

Increased susceptibility to distraction is a symptom of normal aging and several clinical syndromes, including Alzheimer's disease and attention deficit disorders. In the present study, aged and young adult macaques were well-trained to perform an automated delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS) task which assesses both attention and short-term memory. On 19% of all trials, a task-relevant distracting stimulus was presented during either the initial 1 or 3 s of delay intervals (early onset) or the final 1 or 3 s of delay intervals (late onset). In aged monkeys, both early and late onset distractors lasting 1 or 3 s impaired delayed recall on trials with the shortest delay intervals, but did not affect accuracy on trials with long delay intervals. In contrast, young adult monkeys were impaired only by the presence of an early onset distractor lasting 3 s. Impairment was selective for only those trials with the shortest delay intervals. Late onset distractors were relatively ineffective in producing distractibility in young adult animals. Methylphenidate (MPH; 0.005-1.0 mg/kg) failed to reduce distractibility in aged monkeys, producing locomotor abnormalities and hypophagia at doses ranging from 0.25 to 1.0 mg/kg. In young adult monke...Continue Reading

Citations

Sep 6, 2002·Journal of Molecular Neuroscience : MN·Jerry J BuccafuscoPaul B Murdoch
Nov 14, 2002·Behavioural Brain Research·Farshad A Mansouri, Keiji Tanaka
Mar 26, 2004·Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience·Fiona K Wright, K Geoffrey White
Jun 19, 2013·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Rachel D Samson, Carol A Barnes
Aug 2, 2015·Biochemical Pharmacology·Alvin V TerryCaterina M Hernandez
Jan 5, 2013·Cognition·Benjamin M Basile, Robert R Hampton
Apr 30, 2021·Scientific Reports·Vanessa De Castro, Pascal Girard

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