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Persistent sensory experience is good for aging brain by ferujkll sdff
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Persistent sensory experience is good for aging brain |
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Published in the May 24, 2012 issue of Neuron, the study was conducted by researchers at the Max Planck FloridaInstitute (MPFI) and at Columbia University in New York. "This study overturns decades-old beliefs that most of thebrain is hard-wired before a critical period that ends when one isa young adult," said MPFI neuroscientist Marcel Oberlaender,PhD, first author on the paper. "By changing the nature ofsensory experience, we were able to demonstrate that the brain canrewire, even at an advanced age. This may suggest that if one stopslearning and experiencing new things as one ages, a substantialamount of connections within the brain may be lost." The researchers conducted their study by examining the brains ofolder rats, focusing on an area of the brain known as the thalamus,which processes and delivers information obtained from sensoryorgans to the cerebral cortex. Connections between the thalamus andthe cortex have been thought to stop changing by early adulthood,but this was not found to be the case in the rodents studied.
Being nocturnal animals, rats mainly rely on their whiskers asactive sensory organs to explore and navigate their environment.For this reason, the whisker system is an ideal model for studyingwhether the brain can be remodeled by changing sensory experience.By simply trimming the whiskers, and preventing the rats fromreceiving this important and frequent form of sensory input, thescientists sought to determine whether extensive rewiring of theconnections between the thalamus and cortex would occur. On examination, they found that the animals with trimmed whiskershad altered axons, nerve fibers along which information is conveyedfrom one neuron (nerve cell) to many others; those whose whiskerswere not trimmed had no axonal changes. Their findings wereparticularly striking as the rats were considered relatively old --meaning that this rewiring can still take place at an age notpreviously thought possible. Also notable was that the rewiringhappened rapidly -- in as little as a few days. "We've shown that the structure of the rodent brain is inconstant flux, and that this rewiring is shaped by sensoryexperience and interaction with the environment," said Dr.Oberlaender.
"These changes seem to be life-long and maypertain to other sensory systems and species, including people. Ourfindings open the possibility of new avenues of research ondevelopment of the aging brain using quantitative anatomicalstudies combined with noninvasive imaging technologies suitable forhumans, such as functional MRI (fMRI)." The study was possible due to recent advances in high-resolutionimaging and reconstruction techniques, developed in part by Dr.Oberlaender at MPFI. These novel methods enable researchers toautomatically and reliably trace the fine and complex branchingpatterns of individual axons, with typical diameters less than athousandth of a millimeter, throughout the entire brain. Dr. Oberlaender is part of the Max Planck Florida Institute'sDigital Neuroanatomy group, led by Nobel laureate Dr.
Bert Sakmann.The group focuses on the functional anatomy of circuits in thecerebral cortex that form the basis of simple behaviors (e.g.decision making). One of the group's most significant efforts is aprogram dedicated to obtaining a three-dimensional map of therodent brain. This work will provide insight into the functionalarchitecture of entire cortical areas, and will lay the foundationfor a mechanistic understanding of sensory perception and behavior. This study was carried out in collaboration with the group of Dr.Randy M. Bruno in the Neuroscience Department of ColumbiaUniversity, New York. I am an expert from Generators, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as electric gate kits , iron gates fence.
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