Effects of aging on the dynamics of information processing and synaptic weight changes in the mammalian hippocampus

Neuronal plasticity might change with age. It is clear that the properties of long-term enhancement (LTE) make it a plausible mechanism for associative information storage at some synapses in the central nervous system. Although many of the factors that regulate LTE's induction and expression have been discovered and a strong case is being developed for its role in learning and memory processes, until the mechanisms underlying both the expression and maintenance of LTE is more clearly understand, an understanding of its change with age will be difficult. Judging by the progress that has been made over the past several years in uncovering some of the molecular events that are critical for LTE's expression, one may be optimistic that answers will be forthcoming reasonably soon. Of particular importance to aging mammals, such answers may provide insights into why older organisms show faster forgetting. This may have a profound impact on therapeutic strategies for memory disorders in both normal and pathological conditions of aging.