New Study Found Key Information to Understand Brain Aging

In a recently published study, researchers evaluated the use of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) transferred from younger to older mice and its effect on the aging brain. The study appears in the journal Nature. 

For the study, the researchers conditioned mice to remember an event so they could test this memory later. They used 20-month-old mice and gave them 3 electric shocks on their foot at the same time as being exposed to a tone and flashlight light, to help create an association. 

These older mice were injected with CSF from 10-week-old mice for a week and were compared to a control group that received a placebo. 

The team then tried to ascertain the mice’s memory by exposing the mice to the same tone and flashing light without the electric shock, and many froze with fear. 

Mice that received the CSF froze in fear almost 40% of the time, compared to 18% of those that did not receive CSF from younger mice, which suggested that the study group was having a rejuvenating effect on their brains with improved memory. 

The team also found that the mice receiving CSF from younger mice had an increased proliferation and differentiation of oligodendrocytes, which play a key role in producing myelin. 

Mice that received the CSF transplant also had more myelin-coated nerves in their hippocampus, which is a key area of the brain for memory. 

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Source:

Hannah Flynn. (2022, May 24). The aging brain: New research paves way for treating memory loss. Medical News Today. Retrieved from:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/the-aging-brain-new-research-paves-way-for-treating-memory-loss 

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