Cited by 1,344Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatments

Life and Death of Neurons in the Aging Brain

Morrison, John H., Hof, Patrick R.·1997·Science

Abstract

Neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by extensive neuron death that leads to functional decline, but the neurobiological correlates of functional decline in normal aging are less well defined. For decades, it has been a commonly held notion that widespread neuron death in the neocortex and hippocampus is an inevitable concomitant of brain aging, but recent quantitative studies suggest that neuron death is restricted in normal aging and unlikely to account for age-related impairment of neocortical and hippocampal functions. In this article, the qualitative and quantitative differences between aging and Alzheimer's disease with respect to neuron loss are discussed, and age-related changes in functional and biochemical attributes of hippocampal circuits that might mediate functional decline in the absence of neuron death are explored. When these data are viewed comprehensively, it appears that the primary neurobiological substrates for functional impairment in aging differ in important ways from those in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

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Crossref · 10.1126/science.278.5337.412

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Authors
Morrison, J. H., & Hof, P. R.
Affiliations
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (US)
Corresponding author
Morrison, John H.
Venue
Science
Published
1997-10-17
Volume
278
Issue
5337
Pages
412-419
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2023831571
Cited by
1,344
References
158
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 22 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 40 · 2018: 44 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 45 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 50 · 2013: 47 · 2012: 51
FWCI
9.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (AG 05138, P50AG005138, AG-06647)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MHDA52145)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
Keywords
brain aging, neuronal cell death, neurodegeneration, Alzheimer's disease, hippocampus, neocortex, functional decline, age-related cognitive impairment, hippocampal circuitry, neuronal loss
MeSH terms
Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Animals, Cell Survival, Estrogens, Female, Hippocampus, Humans, Male, Memory, Nerve Degeneration, Neurons, Neurofibrillary Tangles, Neurofilament Proteins, Cell Death, Entorhinal Cortex, Neocortex

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