Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology.
Behav Neurosci. 2022 Apr;136(2):126-138. doi: 10.1037/bne0000497. Epub 2021 Nov 15.
Age-related impairments in cognitive function occur in multiple animal species including humans and nonhuman primates. Humans and rhesus monkeys exhibit a similar pattern of cognitive decline beginning in middle age, particularly within the domain of executive function. The prefrontal cortex is the brain region most closely associated with mediating executive function. Previous studies in rhesus monkeys have demonstrated that normal aging leads to an increase in myelin degradation in the prefrontal regions that correlates with cognitive decline. This myelin deterioration is thought to result, at least in part, from the age-related emergence of chronic low levels of inflammation. One therapeutic that may arrest the deleterious effects of neuroinflammation is curcumin (CUR), the primary component of the spice turmeric. CUR has been shown to be a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant and improves performance on tasks for working memory and motor function. In the present study, middle-aged monkeys (12-21 years old) were given daily dietary supplementation of 500 mg of curcumin or vehicle over a period of 3-4 years. Here, we present data from a series of both object and spatial reversal tasks. Compared to vehicle, the CUR group showed enhanced performance on object, but not spatial reversal learning. These findings suggest that curcumin may improve specific aspects of executive function. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
年龄相关的认知功能障碍在包括人类和非人类灵长类动物在内的多种动物物种中都会发生。人类和恒河猴表现出相似的认知能力下降模式，尤其是在执行功能领域。前额叶皮层是与介导执行功能最密切相关的大脑区域。恒河猴的先前研究表明，正常衰老会导致前额叶区域髓鞘降解增加，这与认知能力下降有关。这种髓鞘恶化被认为至少部分是由于慢性低度炎症的出现。一种可能阻止神经炎症有害影响的治疗方法是姜黄素（CUR），它是香料姜黄的主要成分。CUR 已被证明具有很强的抗炎和抗氧化作用，并能提高工作记忆和运动功能任务的表现。在本研究中，中年猴子（12-21 岁）在 3-4 年内每天接受 500 毫克姜黄素或载体的饮食补充。在这里，我们呈现了一系列物体和空间反转任务的数据。与载体相比，CUR 组在物体而非空间反转学习方面表现出更好的性能。这些发现表明姜黄素可能改善特定方面的执行功能。
