Cited by 86Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsDementia and Cognitive Impairment Research

Dendritic Spines: Mediators of Cognitive Resilience in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease

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Walker, Courtney K., Herskowitz, Jeremy H.·2021·The Neuroscientist

Abstract

Cognitive resilience is often defined as the ability to remain cognitively normal in the face of insults to the brain. These insults can include disease pathology, such as plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, or other lesions. Factors such as physical or mental activity and genetics may contribute to cognitive resilience, but the neurobiological underpinnings remain ill-defined. Emerging evidence suggests that dendritic spine structural plasticity is one plausible mechanism. In this review, we highlight the basic structure and function of dendritic spines and discuss how spine density and morphology change in aging and Alzheimer’s disease. We note evidence that spine plasticity mediates resilience to stress, and we tackle dendritic spines in the context of cognitive resilience to Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, we examine how lifestyle and genetic factors may influence dendritic spine plasticity to promote cognitive resilience before discussing evidence for actin regulatory kinases as therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease.

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Crossref · 10.1177/1073858420945964

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  • Neurons rely heavily on local proteostasis that requires robust lysosomal trafficking and positioning due to their long axons and dendrites.

    “At a mechanistic level, the long processes of axons and dendrites mean that neurons rely heavily on local proteostasis that requires robust lysosomal trafficking and positioning.154,155”

    From The lysosome and proteostatic stress at the intersection of pediatric neurological disorders and adult neurodegenerative diseases (2025) · cites this paper as [154]

    The 'Regulation of Spine Morphology' section discusses microtubules delivering cargo to dendritic spines, but does not connect this to local proteostasis or lysosomal trafficking and positioning. Searches for those terms and for protein degradation along long axons and dendrites found no passage addressing the claimed mechanism; page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Authors
Walker, C. K., & Herskowitz, J. H.
Affiliations
University of Alabama at Birmingham (US)
Corresponding author
Herskowitz, Jeremy H.
Venue
The Neuroscientist
Published
2020-08-19
Volume
27
Issue
5
Pages
487-505
ISSN
  • 1073-8584 (ISSN-L)
  • 1089-4098
OpenAlex
W3066396828
Cited by
86
References
167
Citations by year
2026: 10 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 1
FWCI
1.49
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Neuroscientist (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (F31AG067635, R01AG057911, RF1AG063755, R01AG054719, R01AG061800)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (T32NS061788)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
Keywords
dendritic spines, cognitive resilience, Alzheimer's disease, brain aging, spine plasticity, spine density, dendritic spine morphology, stress resilience, lifestyle factors, genetic factors, therapeutic target
MeSH terms
Aging, Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Cognition, Humans, Dendritic Spines

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