Abstract

A comparative neurobiology of aging resource is being developed to amplify understanding of normal aging processes and to promote prevention and treatment of age- related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The resource provides scientific access to the brains of great apes following natural death in zoological gardens, research centers, and retirement sanctuaries as a means of studying aging in non-human primates most genetically, neurobiologically, behaviorally, and cognitively similar to humans. Noninvasive prospective assessments of behavior, cognition, and locomotor patterns, along with detailed clinical histories enhance the value of brains obtained opportunistically at autopsy. No animals are killed to obtain their brains. The repository allows direct comparisons of ape and human brains and uses methods similar to those employed in human brain banks maintained for the study of neurodegenerative diseases. An expert Advisory Review Board has been established to assure wise and optimal use of the resource by reviewing applications. A detailed chimpanzee brain atlas will be produced during Phase II.

Proposed Commercial Applications

NOT AVAILABLE

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Small Business Innovation Research Grants (SBIR) - Phase II (R44)
Project #
5R44AG014308-03
Application #
2909676
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-NEUA (01))
Program Officer
Oliver, Eugene J
Project Start
1997-02-01
Project End
2001-04-30
Budget Start
1999-05-01
Budget End
2001-04-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1999
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
Bioqual, Inc.
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Rockville
State
MD
Country
United States
Zip Code
20850

  Publications

Raghanti, Mary Ann; Edler, Melissa K; Stephenson, Alexa R et al. (2018) A neurochemical hypothesis for the origin of hominids. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 115:E1108-E1116
Edler, Melissa K; Sherwood, Chet C; Meindl, Richard S et al. (2018) Microglia changes associated to Alzheimer's disease pathology in aged chimpanzees. J Comp Neurol 526:2921-2936
Edler, Melissa K; Sherwood, Chet C; Meindl, Richard S et al. (2017) Aged chimpanzees exhibit pathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiol Aging 59:107-120
Raghanti, Mary Ann; Edler, Melissa K; Stephenson, Alexa R et al. (2016) Human-specific increase of dopaminergic innervation in a striatal region associated with speech and language: A comparative analysis of the primate basal ganglia. J Comp Neurol 524:2117-29
Lipovich, Leonard; Hou, Zhuo-Cheng; Jia, Hui et al. (2016) High-throughput RNA sequencing reveals structural differences of orthologous brain-expressed genes between western lowland gorillas and humans. J Comp Neurol 524:288-308
Perez, Sylvia E; Sherwood, Chet C; Cranfield, Michael R et al. (2016) Early Alzheimer's disease-type pathology in the frontal cortex of wild mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei). Neurobiol Aging 39:195-201
Barks, Sarah K; Bauernfeind, Amy L; Bonar, Christopher J et al. (2014) Variable temporoinsular cortex neuroanatomy in primates suggests a bottleneck effect in eastern gorillas. J Comp Neurol 522:844-60
Raghanti, Mary Ann; Edler, Melissa K; Meindl, Richard S et al. (2014) Humans and great apes share increased neocortical neuropeptide Y innervation compared to other haplorhine primates. Front Hum Neurosci 8:101
Raghanti, Mary Ann; Conley, Tiffini; Sudduth, Jessica et al. (2013) Neuropeptide Y-immunoreactive neurons in the cerebral cortex of humans and other haplorrhine primates. Am J Primatol 75:415-24
Perez, Sylvia E; Raghanti, Mary Ann; Hof, Patrick R et al. (2013) Alzheimer's disease pathology in the neocortex and hippocampus of the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). J Comp Neurol 521:4318-38

Showing the most recent 10 out of 17 publications