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Normal ageing and the brain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

CS Breathnach
CS Breathnach*
Affiliation:
Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University College Dublin, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2, Ireland.
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Abstract

Interest in the psychiatric aspects of old age predated the institution of geriatrics as a clinical discipline, but the systematic study of the ageing brain only began in the second half of this century when an ageing population presented a global numerical challenge to society. In the senescent cerebral cortex, though the number of neurons is not reduced, cell shrinkage results in synaptic impoverishment with consequent cognitive impairment. Recent advances in imaging techniques, combined with burgeoning knowledge of neurobiological structure and function, have increased our understanding of the ageing processes in the human brain and permit an optimistic approach in the application of the newer insights into neuropsychology and geriatric psychiatry.

Keywords

SenescenceBrain ageingBrain imagingLipofuscinSteroidsCascade hypothesis.
Type
Perspective
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 1998 , pp. 26 - 28
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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