Hardening also neurons with age

2003/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biologia

The human being, as his age advances, finds himself with various difficulties. It can also be said that neurons suffer damage over time. Researchers at the University of Washington have found that in young mice neurons form and break the relationships between them at all times, while in older mice these junctions ‘solidified’ and stable, with the consequent loss of flexibility of the brain.

The researchers have confirmed the results of another study conducted last year with this research. Then, when analyzing the dendrites, two other groups obtained contradictory results. Dendrites, together with the axon, are elements that intervene in the communication between neurons. Precisely, investigating the axons have shown that with age the axons of neurons lose dynamicity and that the links stabilize.