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Nervous System Ageing

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Ageing: Lessons from C. elegans

Part of the book series: Healthy Ageing and Longevity ((HAL))

Abstract

In the face of ever-changing cellular environments during life and ageing, the nervous system ensures the coordination of behaviour and physiology. Over time, however, the nervous system declines structurally and functionally, leading to age-related cognitive and behavioural decline in humans. Aspects of nervous system ageing are being studied using C. elegans as a model system. Here we review the age-related neuronal changes that occur at the structural, cellular and functional levels in normally ageing animals, as well as how these changes relate to lifespan in healthy ageing and in neurodegenerative conditions. Understanding the cellular mechanisms that result in neuronal decline in C. elegans will help identify cellular factors that protect the nervous system structure and function during normal ageing and in disease states. Ultimately, elucidating the molecular networks and cellular processes underlying the ageing of the nervous system will fuel research and design of interventions to improve human life at old age.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Arantza Barrios, Emanuel K. Busch and Cassandra Blanchette for feedback on the manuscript. Research in the lab of Dr. Maria Doitsidou is supported by the Norwegian Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, UK. Research in the lab of Dr. Claire Bénard is supported by grant R01 AG041870-01 from the National Institutes of Health of the USA to C.B., the Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar Aging Award to C.B., and the American Federation for Aging Research Award to C.B..

Dedicated to the memory of Muhammad Ali (January 17, 1942–June 3, 2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Claire Bénard

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Québec at Montréal, Montréal, Canada

    Claire Bénard

  3. Centre for Integrative Physiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

    Maria Doitsidou

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  1. Claire Bénard
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Correspondence to Claire Bénard or Maria Doitsidou .

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  1. Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Anders Olsen

  2. Department of Metabolics & Aging, The Scripps Research Institute - Scripps Florida, Jupiter, Florida, USA

    Matthew S. Gill

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Bénard, C., Doitsidou, M. (2017). Nervous System Ageing. In: Olsen, A., Gill, M. (eds) Ageing: Lessons from C. elegans. Healthy Ageing and Longevity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44703-2_8

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