Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Isolation and Characterization of the Immune Cells from Micro-dissected Mouse Choroid Plexuses
Published on: February 3, 2022
Neuroinflammation not associated with cholinergic degeneration in aged-impaired brain
Joseph A McQuail1, David R Riddle, Michelle M Nicolle
1Program in Neuroscience, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA.
Abstract:
Degeneration of the cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain and elevation of inflammatory markers are well-established hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease; however, the interplay of these processes in normal aging is not extensively studied. Consequently, we conducted a neuroanatomical investigation to quantify cholinergic neurons and activated microglia in the medial septum/vertical diagonal band (MS/VDB) of young (6 months) and aged (28 months) Fisher 344 × Brown Norway F(1) rats. Aged rats in this study were impaired relative to the young animals in spatial learning ability as assessed in the Morris water maze. Stereological analysis revealed no difference between aged and young rats in the total numbers of cholinergic neurons, demonstrating that loss of cholinergic neurons is not a necessary condition to observe impaired spatial learning in aged rats. In this same region, the total number of activated microglia was substantially greater in aged rats relative to young rats. Jointly, these data demonstrate that aging is characterized by an increase in the basal inflammatory state within the MS/VDB, but this inflammation is not associated with cholinergic neuron death.
More Related Videos
09:19Improved 3D Hydrogel Cultures of Primary Glial Cells for In Vitro Modelling of Neuroinflammation
Published on: December 8, 2017
12:48In Vivo Dynamics of Retinal Microglial Activation During Neurodegeneration: Confocal Ophthalmoscopic Imaging and Cell Morphometry in Mouse Glaucoma
Published on: May 11, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Neural Regulation
Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ and tau...
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction