M4 Brain aging (normal vs. pathological)

Title

Physiological brain aging involves a slow and gradual decline in synaptic density (extension of S of E14), myelin integrity (extension of M of E14/A4) and cerebrovascular reserve (ability to increase blood flow upon metabolic demand, extension of end of E11), accompanied by a progressive accumulation of mitochondrial oxidative damage (extension of energy metabolism of E12). The cognitive impact of this decline is modeled with the same functional form used for cognitive impairment in Alzheimer's (A3), but moderated by a cognitive reserve that is built throughout life through intellectual and social activity, acting as a functional buffer. The model explicitly distinguishes normal from pathological aging through a combined threshold of accumulated damage and synaptic loss, beyond which the deterioration is no longer compatible with healthy aging and approaches the phenotype of the anomalies described in series A (for example A3).

ID:4276