Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Ames Hall, 3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Neural Plast. 2010;2010:108190. doi: 10.1155/2010/108190. Epub 2010 Dec 1.
All neurons are not created equal. Certain cell populations in specific brain regions are more susceptible to age-related changes that initiate regional and system-level dysfunction. In this respect, neurons in layer II of the entorhinal cortex are selectively vulnerable in aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). This paper will cover several hypotheses that attempt to account for age-related alterations among this cell population. We consider whether specific developmental, anatomical, or biochemical features of neurons in layer II of the entorhinal cortex contribute to their particular sensitivity to aging and AD. The entorhinal cortex is a functionally heterogeneous environment, and we will also review data suggesting that, within the entorhinal cortex, there is subregional specificity for molecular alterations that may initiate cognitive decline. Taken together, the existing data point to a regional cascade in which entorhinal cortical alterations directly contribute to downstream changes in its primary afferent region, the hippocampus.
并非所有神经元都是平等的。特定脑区的某些细胞群体更容易受到与年龄相关的变化的影响，从而引发区域和系统功能障碍。在这方面，内嗅皮层 II 层的神经元在衰老和阿尔茨海默病 (AD) 中更容易受到影响。本文将介绍几种试图解释该细胞群体与年龄相关变化的假说。我们考虑内嗅皮层 II 层的神经元是否具有特定的发育、解剖或生化特征，导致它们对衰老和 AD 特别敏感。内嗅皮层是一个功能异质性的环境，我们还将回顾数据表明，在内嗅皮层中，存在分子改变的亚区域特异性，这些改变可能引发认知能力下降。综上所述，现有数据表明，存在一个区域级联反应，其中内嗅皮层的改变直接导致其主要传入区域——海马体的下游变化。
