title: Loss of synapses in the cerebellar cortex of the senescent rat.
abstract: Numbers of synapses were compared in the cerebellar cortex of adult (12 months of age) and senescent (25 months of age) male rats of the Fisher-344 strain. The total number of axodendritic synapses was found to be 24% lower in the senescent rats as compared with adults. A differential analysis of synapses involving dendritic shafts and spines showed no significant change in numbers of synapses involving shafts, but a highly sigificant 33% decrease in numbers involving spines in senescent rats. These data suggest that the selective age-related loss of synapses involving dendritic spines (but not shafts) in the cerebellar cortex results from the impairment with advanced age of specific afferent neurons and/or a selective age-related vulnerability of dendritic spines.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002525:Cerebellar Cortex / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D013569:Synapses / Q000648:ultrastructure*