Enhanced hippocampal long-term potentiation and spatial learning in aged 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 knock-out mice.

Glucocorticoids are pivotal in the maintenance of memory and cognitive functions as well as other essential physiological processes including energy metabolism, stress responses, and cell proliferation. Normal aging in both rodents and humans is often characterized by elevated glucocorticoid levels that correlate with hippocampus-dependent memory impairments. 11Beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1) amplifies local intracellular ("intracrine") glucocorticoid action; in the brain it is highly expressed in the hippocampus.