On the basis of the morphofunctional evidence obtained in old brains of humans and mammals the present hypothesis has been introduced. This hypothesis states that neuronal plasticity can be used either to compensate for neuronal degeneration or to store new information. Thus, in pathological ageing the marked rate of degeneration has fully exhausted the already reduced plasticity capability of neural networks. In this way marked impairments of memory trace formation take place in pathological ageing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. The essence of this hypothesis is that a competition for the available plasticity exists between the compensatory responses to ageing-induced degeneration and the processes necessary for memory trace formation. We have called this hypothesis the 'Red Queen Theory', an analogy borrowed from Lewis Carroll's book Through the Looking Glass. Thus, in ageing, processes responsible for plasticity must be forced to run at the highest possible rate to maintain the morphofunctional substrate of the existing networks as well as to allow the formation of new memory traces.

NEURONAL PLASTICITY AND AGING PROCESSES IN THE FRAME OF THE RED QUEEN THEORY / Agnati, Luigi Francesco; Zoli, Michele; Biagini, Giuseppe; Fuxe, K.. - In: ACTA PHYSIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA. - ISSN 0001-6772. - STAMPA. - 145:(1992), pp. 301-309.

NEURONAL PLASTICITY AND AGING PROCESSES IN THE FRAME OF THE RED QUEEN THEORY

AGNATI, Luigi Francesco;ZOLI, Michele;BIAGINI, Giuseppe;
1992

Abstract

On the basis of the morphofunctional evidence obtained in old brains of humans and mammals the present hypothesis has been introduced. This hypothesis states that neuronal plasticity can be used either to compensate for neuronal degeneration or to store new information. Thus, in pathological ageing the marked rate of degeneration has fully exhausted the already reduced plasticity capability of neural networks. In this way marked impairments of memory trace formation take place in pathological ageing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. The essence of this hypothesis is that a competition for the available plasticity exists between the compensatory responses to ageing-induced degeneration and the processes necessary for memory trace formation. We have called this hypothesis the 'Red Queen Theory', an analogy borrowed from Lewis Carroll's book Through the Looking Glass. Thus, in ageing, processes responsible for plasticity must be forced to run at the highest possible rate to maintain the morphofunctional substrate of the existing networks as well as to allow the formation of new memory traces.
1992
145
301
309
NEURONAL PLASTICITY AND AGING PROCESSES IN THE FRAME OF THE RED QUEEN THEORY / Agnati, Luigi Francesco; Zoli, Michele; Biagini, Giuseppe; Fuxe, K.. - In: ACTA PHYSIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA. - ISSN 0001-6772. - STAMPA. - 145:(1992), pp. 301-309.
Agnati, Luigi Francesco; Zoli, Michele; Biagini, Giuseppe; Fuxe, K.
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.
Pubblicazioni consigliate

Licenza Creative Commons
I metadati presenti in IRIS UNIMORE sono rilasciati con licenza Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal, mentre i file delle pubblicazioni sono rilasciati con licenza Attribuzione 4.0 Internazionale (CC BY 4.0), salvo diversa indicazione.
In caso di violazione di copyright, contattare Supporto Iris

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/11493
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 5
  • Scopus 26
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 24
social impact