COGNITIVE DECLINE WITH AGE: ROLE OF STRIATAL CHOLINERGIC SYSTEM AND GROWTH HORMONE

Abstract

Normal aging can result in cognitive decline even in the absence of neurodegenerative disease. Successful identification of neurobiological changes that occur in association with age-related cognitive decline is needed to develop strategies to restore or preserve cognitive function in elderly individuals and to understand the neurobiology of aging. The present studies were designed to assess the effects of aging on cognitive abilities dependent on hippocampal/mediotemporal lobe and frontostriatal function, brain regions involved in memory and behavioral flexibility, respectively, and to investigate potential factors associated with cognitive decline.