Chronic inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin by rapamycin modulates cognitive and non-cognitive components of behavior throughout lifespan in mice.

Halloran J, Hussong SA, Burbank R, Podlutskaya N, Fischer KE, Sloane LB, Austad SN, Strong R, Richardson A, Hart MJ, Galvan V · 2012 · Neuroscience · Atlas ID HAL2012

What this study shows

Asked whether the lifespan-extending dose of rapamycin harms or helps the aging BRAIN. Reassuringly, it enhanced learning and memory in young mice, prevented age-related cognitive decline in old ones, and even reduced anxiety and depression-like behavior - linked to boosted brain monoamines. Cognitive benefit, not cost.

Abstract

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Aging is, by far, the greatest risk factor for most neurodegenerative diseases. In non-diseased conditions, normal aging can also be associated with declines in cognitive function that significantly affect quality of life in the elderly. It was recently shown that inhibition of Mammalian TOR (mTOR) activity in mice by chronic rapamycin treatment extends lifespan, possibly by delaying aging {Harrison, 2009 #4}{Miller, 2011 #168}.

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At a glance

Evidence type	A Animal model Marked A because it is an animal intervention or observation study measuring an organismal outcome (model: C57BL/6 mice (lifespan behavior study)); the code names the system studied -- animal work can be rigorous and still not be human data.
Study type	4 - Animal Study
Model system	C57BL/6 mice (lifespan behavior study)
Journal	Neuroscience
Year	2012
Peer reviewed	Yes
Record last updated	2026-10-01
Source	DOI 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.06.054 · PMID 22750207 · Free full text (PMC3454865)

Extracted findings

These fields were extracted from the paper with AI assistance and have not been checked against the source. Read them as a pointer into the paper, not as curated claims; where they disagree with the curated summary above, the curated summary stands.

Intervention	Rapamycin (chronic)
Target	mTOR
Model	C57BL/6 mice (lifespan behavior study)
Effect	Chronic rapamycin modulates cognitive and non-cognitive behavior across the lifespan in mice
Dose	2.24 mg rapamycin per kg body weight/day via rapamycin-supplemented chow (14 mg/kg food), ad libitum, for periods ranging from 8 to 40 weeks
Sample size	not stated
Effect size	not stated
Limitations	not stated

In the Atlas

Open questions that cite this study

Cited as supporting evidence for the open question Brain-penetrant mTOR inhibition clears aggregates in models, but human dosing has not been shown to reach the brain — and mTORC2 is needed for memory in mice.

Cite this paper

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Halloran, J., Hussong, S. A., Burbank, R., Podlutskaya, N., Fischer, K. E., Sloane, L. B., Austad, S. N., Strong, R., Richardson, A., Hart, M. J., & Galvan, V. (2012). Chronic inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin by rapamycin modulates cognitive and non-cognitive components of behavior throughout lifespan in mice. Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.06.054

@article{HAL2012,
  author       = {Halloran, J. and Hussong, S. A. and Burbank, R. and Podlutskaya, N. and Fischer, K. E. and Sloane, L. B. and Austad, S. N. and Strong, R. and Richardson, A. and Hart, M. J. and Galvan, V.},
  title        = {{Chronic inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin by rapamycin modulates cognitive and non-cognitive components of behavior throughout lifespan in mice}},
  journal      = {Neuroscience},
  year         = {2012},
  doi          = {10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.06.054},
  note         = {PMID: 22750207},
}

Cite this Atlas record

The record is the Atlas's own work — the evidence label, the extracted findings and the links. It is cited as part of the dataset, not as the paper.

Barton, O. (2026). Oliver's mTOR Atlas (record HAL2012) [Data set]. https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HAL2012/ · Dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22059963

@misc{atlas_HAL2012,
  author       = {Barton, Oliver},
  title        = {{Oliver's mTOR Atlas}, record HAL2012},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://mtor-atlas.org/study/HAL2012/},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22059963}
}

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