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Part of the book series: Advances in Behavioral Biology ((ABBI,volume 36))

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Abstract

Much research on the aging of the brain has been devoted in recent years to the possible alterations in specific neurotransmitter systems and the receptors which subserve neural transmission. This emphasis on transmitter systems is the result of the availability of new and specific ligands to probe receptor numbers and function as well as highly sensitive assays to directly measure transmitter content. The possibility that breakdowns in individual transmitter systems may correlate with specific clinical symptoms in aging-related disease has received much support, and indeed is well demonstrated in the dopaminergic dysfunction of Parkinson’s disease, and, to a lesser extent, the cholinergic deficits seen in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, it is not well understood how changes in transmitter systems during the course of “normal” aging affect brain function.

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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York

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Anderson, K.J., Monaghan, D.T., Geddes, J.W. (1989). NMDA Receptors, Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease. In: Meyer, E.M., Simpkins, J.W., Yamamoto, J. (eds) Novel Approaches to the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. Advances in Behavioral Biology, vol 36. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5727-8_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-5727-8_25

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-5729-2

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