正确认识年龄损害记忆——动物学研究

年龄相关性学习记忆能力减退是从人到啮齿类动物的常见现象.但因受到支持的记忆系统不同,各种类型的记忆形式受到年龄影响各不相同.并非所有形式的记忆都受损.受损的记忆消失也并非同时出现,且受损程度不同,以空间性记忆受损最早最重.衰老过程中,不同形式的记忆可能此消彼长,有些形式的记忆甚至可能增强.因此,在研究年龄相关性学习记忆能力减退时最好使用多个任务进行记忆评估.

Age-related impairment of learning and memory abilities in animals

Aging is associated with significant deterioration in cognitive functions,including impairments in the ability to remember specific events,to acquire new information,and to deploy executive functions.However,various forms of memory are affected differently by age because of different neuroanatomical substrates underlying these forms of memory.During aging,not all forms of memory are impaired,and the impairments emerge asynchronously,with the earliest and most severe impairment in the spatial memory.The various forms of memory may enhance or decline each other and even some forms of memory are increased during aging.Therefore,the assessment of memory ability had better use a battery consisting of multiple tasks detected different forms of memory in study of age-related decrement in learning and memory ability.