Elsevier

Neuroscience

Volume 6, Issue 2, February 1981, Pages 177-187
Neuroscience

Regional changes of monoamines in cerebral cortex and subcortical structures of aging rhesus monkeys

https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4522(81)90053-1Get rights and content

Abstract

The concentration and rates of synthesis of monoaminergic neurotransmitters were determined in selected cortical and subcortical brain regions of rhesus monkeys ranging in age from 2 to over 18 y of age. Major changes that occur with advancing age include:

  • (1)

    a decrease in endogenous concentrations of dopamine in restricted regions of the cerebral cortex; the reduction is most drastic in the prefrontal association cortex where the loss is over 50%;

  • (2)

    cortical levels of norepinephrine and serotonin remain essentially unaltered in prefrontal association cortex and exhibit only slight or modest reductions in other cortical areas over the same time scale;

  • (3)

    catecholamine biosynthesis is reduced by at least 60% in all sensory and association cortical areas between 2 and 18 y of age but is surprisingly steady in the premotor and motor cortex over the same period of time;

  • (4)

    serotonergic activity does not change with age in any cortical or subcortical structure examined;

  • (5)

    age-related losses in subcortical structures occur only in dopamine concentrations and/or catecholamine biosynthesis: dopamine levels fall in the caudate nucleus and hypothalamus and catecholamine synthesis declines to varying degrees in all subcortical structures studied.

These findings collectively emphasize the distinctive regional patterns and selective biochemical changes that take place in various neurotransmitter systems of the primate cerebral cortex during the process of aging.

Reference (59)

  • ReisD.J. et al.

    Changes in the activity and amounts of enzymes synthesizing catecholamines and acetylcholine in brain, adrenal medulla, and sympathetic ganglia of aged rat and mouse

    Brain Res.

    (1977)
  • RitterS. et al.

    Magnitude of stress-induced brain norepinephrine depletion varies with age

    Brain Res.

    (1978)
  • SamorajskiT. et al.

    Age and regional differences in the chemical composition of brains of mice, monkeys and humans

    Prog. Brain Res.

    (1973)
  • ScheibelM.E. et al.

    Progressive dendritic changes in aging human cortex

    Expl Neurol.

    (1975)
  • AdolfssonR. et al.

    Post-mortem distribution of dopamine and homovanillic acid in human brain, variations related to age, and a review of the literature

    J. Neural. Trans.

    (1979)
  • ArbitJ. et al.

    Behavior and mentation changes during therapy

  • AtackC.V.

    The determination of dopamine by a modification of the dihydroxyindole fluorimetric assay

    Br. J. Pharmac.

    (1973)
  • AtackC.V. et al.

    Conjoint native and orthphtaldiadehyde-condensate assays for the fluorimetric determination of 5-hydroxyindoles in brain

    Naunyn-Schmiedebergs Arch. exp. Path. Pharmak.

    (1973)
  • AtackC.V. et al.

    Individual elution of noradrenaline (together with adrenaline), dopamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine and histamine from a single, strong cation exchange column, by means of mineral acid-organic solvent mixtures

    J. Pharm. Pharmac.

    (1970)
  • BanT.A.

    Vasodilators, stimulants, and anabolic agents in the treatment of geropsychiatric patients

  • BartusR.T. et al.

    Aging in the rhesus monkey: debilitating effects of short-term memory

    J. Geront.

    (1978)
  • BecksteadR.M.

    Convergent thalamic and mesencephalic projections to the antero-medial cortex in the rat

    J. comp. Neurol.

    (1976)
  • BrizzeeK.R. et al.

    Quantitative assessment of changes in neuron and glial cell packing density and lipofuscin accumulation with age in the cerebral cortex of a nonhuman primate (Macaca mulatta)

  • BrownR.M. et al.

    Changes in biogenic amine synthesis and turnover induced by hypoxia and/or foot shock stress. II. The Central Nervous System

    J. Neural. Transm.

    (1974)
  • BrozoskiT.J. et al.

    Cognitive deficit caused by regional depletion of dopamine in prefrontal cortex of rhesus monkey

    Science, N.Y.

    (1979)
  • CarlssonA.

    Age-dependent changes in central dopaminergic and other monoaminergic systems

  • CarlssonA. et al.

    Influence of age and time interval between death and autopsy on dopamine and 3-methoxytyramine levels in human basal ganglia

    J. Neural. Transm.

    (1976)
  • CorsoJ.F.

    Sensory processes in man during maturity and senescence

  • Cited by (318)

    • Plastic changes to dendritic spines in the cerebellar and prefrontal cortices underlie the decline in motor coordination and working memory during successful aging

      2021, Behavioural Brain Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      However, although a strong correlation is thought to exist between spine morphology and learning/memory processes [97,100] further studies will be necessary to better define the relationship between the dendritic spine-mediated plastic changes, and the motor and cognitive performance observed here. In addition to cytoarchitectural modifications, neurotransmission systems have been proposed to be involved in both the motor and cognitive deficits observed in aging [120–125]. However, despite the well-known modulation that some neurotransmission systems exert on the morphofunctional activity of dendritic spines [126], we believe that the relationship between neurotransmitter activity and the dynamics of dendritic spines has yet to be studied during aging.

    • Characterization of age-related microstructural changes in locus coeruleus and substantia nigra pars compacta

      2020, Neurobiology of Aging
      Citation Excerpt :

      As the bipolar diffusion acquisition is insensitive to magnetic field inhomogeneities generated by iron, we predicted the diffusion indices from the monopolar acquisition would be sensitive to iron but not diffusion indices from the bipolar acquisition. Older monkeys exhibit deficits in memory (Bartus, 1979) and have decreased catecholaminergic innervation of the prefrontal cortex (Goldman-Rakic and Brown, 1981). In addition, pharmacological manipulation of noradrenaline was found to influence memory in older monkeys (Arnsten and Contant, 1992; Jackson and Buccafusco, 1991).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text