Plasticity of central noradrenergic projections during aging

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  • 中枢ノルアドレナリン投射系の加齢変化と可塑性
  • チュウスウ　ノルアドレナリン　トウシャケイ　ノ　カレイ　ヘンカ　ト　カソセイ

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The locus coeruleus (LC), located within the caudal pontine central gray, is composed of noradrenalinecontaining neurons. The axons of these neurons form extensive collateral branches that project widely to many brain sites. The function of the LC is still unclear at present, however, LC neurons are known that exhibit marked axonal regeneration and sprouting in response to brain damage. We investigated the agerelated changes in noradrenergic innervations of the frontal cortex, using in vivo electrophysiological techniques and immunohistochemistry. While noradrenergic innervations gradually decreased with age in the frontal cortex, a high degree of sprouting occurred in the LC axon terminals in the middle age. These findings suggested that the LC neurons preserve a strong capacity to remodel their axon terminals even in the aging brain. Exogenous brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) infusion caused a marked increase in the density of noradrenergic axon in the aged brain, but no trophic action of BDNF was observed in the young and middle-aged brain. The result suggests that BDNF is necessary for the maintenance of noradrenergic innervations in the aged brain.

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