Accelerated aging of senescence accelerated mice R-1 demonstrated by flash visually evoked cortical potentials

To determine the physiological alterations of visual functions induced by aging, the latency of the N40 peak of the flash visual evoked cortical potentials at several stimulus frequencies were analyzed from senescence accelerated mice (SAM). The senescence prone (P-8) and senescence resistant (R-1) SAM lines were studied. In both the P-8 and ICR (the standard outbred albino laboratory mouse also called CD-1) mice, the peak latency was not significantly different at 6 and 12 months of age. In contrast, there was a prolongation of the peak latency in the R-1 line at 12 months compared to that at 6 months. We conclude that there is an acceleration of the aging process in the R-1 line for visually evoked responses. Thus, the R-1 line might be an independent line suited for the study of aging effects on visual functions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.