Aging, cognitive changes

Deary IJ, Whiteman MC, Pattie A et al (2002) Ageing cognitive change and the APOE epsilon 4 allele. Nature 418 932... 

Age-related changes in many cognitive functions are seen in healthy elderly adults. Most notable are changes in processing speed and short-term memory (Sliwinski and Buschke 1999 Unger et al. 

Executive abihties involving the cognitive processes needed to complete complex, goal-oriented tasks decline with normal aging. These problems are associated with age-related changes in the frontal-striatal neuronal networks, and with impaired coimections across the corpus callosiun. 

While non-human primates may be the most relevant animals, practical and economic factors have made rodents the most widely used model. The small size of the mouse can be a handicap, but there are several well-defined strains which offer a wide range of features. For example, NMRI strain-aged mice provide evidence for cognitive impairment (Morris water maze, passive avoidance). But in this model, neurochemical changes do not correlate with performance in learning and memory tasks [28]. In one specific strain, the senescence- accelerated mouse (SAM), age-related changes in learning and memory have been reported [29]. 

This work was carried out with financial support from the European Commission Quality of Life Fifth Framework Programme QLKl-CT 1999-00010, FlealthSense project Flealthy ageing How changes in sensory physiology, sensory psychology and socio-cognitive factors influence food choice. ... 

C Murphy. Cognitive and chemosensory influences on age-related changes in the ability to identify blended foods. J Gerontol 40 47-52, 1985. 

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