Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Increased axonal bouton dynamics in the aging mouse cortex

2013; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 110; Issue: 16 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.1218731110

1091-6490

Federico W. Grillo, Sen Song, Leonor M. Teles-Grilo Ruivo, Lieven Huang, Ge Gao, Graham Knott, Bohumil Maco, Valentina Ferretti, Dawn Thompson, Graham Little, Vincenzo De Paola,

Neural dynamics and brain function

Significance Synaptic plasticity is considered an essential process for the formation and maintenance of memory. It had been assumed for decades that cognitive deficits within the aging brain result from reduced synaptic density and plasticity. By imaging axonal arbors and boutons in the aged brain, we surprisingly find the opposite, i.e., dramatically increased rates of synapse formation, elimination, and destabilization in specific cortical circuits. This observation suggests that learning and memory deficits in the aged brain may arise not through an inability to form new synapses but rather through decreased synaptic tenacity.