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Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Preparation of Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rats and Transgenic Mice for the Study of Synaptic Alterations during Aging and Amyloid Pathology
Published on: March 23, 2011
Plasticity of the aging brain: new directions in cognitive neuroscience
1Department of Psychology and Volen National Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA. Massachussetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA, USA. gutchess@brandeis.edu.
Abstract:
Cognitive neuroscience has revealed aging of the human brain to be rich in reorganization and change. Neuroimaging results have recast our framework around cognitive aging from one of decline to one emphasizing plasticity. Current methods use neurostimulation approaches to manipulate brain function, providing a direct test of the ways that the brain differently contributes to task performance for younger and older adults. Emerging research into emotional, social, and motivational domains provides some evidence for preservation with age, suggesting potential avenues of plasticity, alongside additional evidence for reorganization. Thus, we begin to see that aging of the brain, amidst interrelated behavioral and biological changes, is as complex and idiosyncratic as the brain itself, qualitatively changing over the life span.
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