The overall aim of this project is to compare age-related cognitive deficits in non-human primates with the structural status of synaptic elements in hippocampal and cortical regions that critically participate in memory and attention. The cognitive and structural alterations that occur with normal cognitive aging are highly selective, preferentially targeting restricted neural systems. All of the investigations focus on evaluating age-related cognitive and morphological alterations within the same subjects, capitalizing on recent advances in the behavioral assessment of cognitive aging. The project is guided by the working hypothesis that regional synaptic structure is related to the efficiency of specific cognitive processes, and that synaptic alterations participate in the cascade of events responsible for age-related learning and memory impairment. Investigation of the hippocampus and related cortical regions, the frontal cortex, and the basal forebrain cholinergic system will allow us to differentiate their selective vulnerability to aging in relation to cognitive status. The use of modern stereological techniques to evaluate synaptic parameters will allow rigourous quantitative comparisons between structural subtypes (presynaptic boutons, dendritic spines, cholinergic fibers) and regions in relation to the quantitative cognitive data. Taken together, these investigations will substantially contribute to our understanding of relationships between synaptic structure and cognitive systems, and their alterations in primate normal cognitive aging.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Type
Postdoctoral Individual National Research Service Award (F32)
Project #
1F32AG005868-01A1
Application #
6209140
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-IFCN-7 (01))
Program Officer
Wagster, Molly V
Project Start
2000-10-01
Project End
Budget Start
2000-10-01
Budget End
2001-09-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2000
Total Cost
$32,416
Indirect Cost
Name
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Department
Biology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
114400633
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10029
Calhoun, Michael E; Fletcher, Bonnie R; Yi, Stella et al. (2008) Age-related spatial learning impairment is unrelated to spinophilin immunoreactive spine number and protein levels in rat hippocampus. Neurobiol Aging 29:1256-64