The Ageing Brain Flashcards
Brain cells are pre mitotic
TRUE or FALSE
False
Brain cells are post mitotic
What does post mitotic mean?
Cells doesn’t repair properly
What are the metabolic contributors to ageing and the brain?
Triad of metabolic processes impairing homeostasis
- altered mitochondrial function
- reactive oxygenation species (ROS) formation
- altered intracellular calcium homeostasis
What is major depression linked to?
Increased physical disease
Increased cellular markers of accelerated ageing
Brain gets smaller with age, what is the volume loss due to?
Due to synapses and dendrites
Atrophy somatosensory cortex may contribute to?
Poor balance
Increased falls
Increased reliance on visual feedback for motor a task
What happens if nocturnal melatonin levels decrease?
Poor day/night rhythm
Early to bed, early waking
Delirium, dementia
There is significant declines in signalling of what in ageing?
Acetylcholine
Serotonin
Dopamine
Glutamate
What is nerve growth factor important for?
The maintenance and protection of cholinergic neurones
Fall serotonin level results in?
Altered cognition
Mood
Circadian rhythms: sleep wake cycles
Aggression levels
What is used to treat depression? Give examples
SSRIs - selective serotonin repo take inhibitors
- citalopram
- setraline
- fluoxetine
What is dopamine important for?
Movement
Reward seeking
Addictive behaviours
Ageing is marked by the accumulation of what?
Intracellular waste
Intracellular amyloid plaques
Extra cellular neurofibrillary tangles
What is Alzheimer’s disease described as?
Widespread cortical atrophy
Microscopically visible amyloid plaques
Neurofibrillary tangles
Dystrophic neutrites (axon or dendrite)
What cognition changes occur with ageing?
Speed of mental processing slows down
Attention is preserved up to a point
Visuospatial functions decline
Memory and language fluency decline
