Effects of autophagy on synaptic-plasticity-related protein expression in the hippocampus CA1 of a rat model of vascular dementia

This study aimed to explore the relationship between autophagy and synaptic plasticity in the pathogenesis of vascular dementia (VD). The autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and the autophagy agonist rapamycin (Rap) were injected into the lateral ventricles of rats, and a rat VD model was established using a modified four-vessel occlusion method. The expression of LC3-II, synaptophysin (Syn), and postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95)...