Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences
J. Anim. Plant Sci. [ISSN 2071 - 7024]
Volume 20(1): 3056 - 3066. Published November, 2013.

Morphological and Functional Alterations in Cerebral and Cerebellar Cortices of Old Cats

Changzheng Zhang1*, Qingfeng Zhu1, Xueping Ren1, Tong Qiao2*

1School of Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, Anqing 246011, China;
2Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200040, China
*Correspondence: Dr. Changzheng Zhang, School of Life Sciences, Anqing Normal University, 128 South Linghu Road, Anqing, Anhui 246011, P. R. China; Dr. Tong Qiao, Shanghai Children’s Hospital, Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, 1400 West Beijing Road, Shanghai 200040, P. R. China
Email address: neurozhang@163.com, neurobiologyzhang@yahoo.com; (Zhang C.); qiaojone@gmail.com (Qiao T.)
Key words: Aging; Cat; Cerebrum; Cerebellum; Morphology; Function

1 SUMMMARY
The cat brain undergoes significant structural and functional alterations during the normal aging process. This review focuses on the alterations in the cerebral and cerebellar cortices, including impairments in cortical architecture, changes in neuron quantity, degeneration in neuronal configuration, disorder of the neurotransmitter system, hyperplasia of glial cells, increase in neuronal firing and decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio, as well as retrogression in relevant behaviours. Among these changes, loss of neurons, degeneration of neuronal configuration, and disruption in neurotransmitter balance are believed to be the principal causes for age-related neural dysfunction, and ultimately lead to behavioural disability in aged cats; whereas age-related enhancement of glial activity might play a compensatory role in neural degeneration during brain aging.

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