Buell S J, Coleman P D
Science. 1979 Nov 16;206(4420):854-6. doi: 10.1126/science.493989.
Golgi-stained dendrites of single randomly chosen layer-II pyramidal neurons in the human parahippocampal gyrus were quantified with a computer-microscope system. In nondemented aged cases (average age, 79.6 years), dendritic trees were more extensive than in adult cases (average age, 51.2), with most of the difference resulting from increases in the number and average length of terminal segments of the dendritic tree. These results provide morphological evidence for plasticity in the mature and aged human brain. In senile dementia (average age, 76.0), dendritic trees were less extensive than in adult brains, largely because their terminal segments were fewer and shorter. Cells with shrunken dendritic trees were found in all brains. These data suggest a model of aging in the central nervous system in which one population of neurons dies and regresses and the other survives and grows. The latter appears to be the dominant population in aging without dementia.
使用计算机显微镜系统对人类海马旁回中随机选取的单个II层锥体神经元的高尔基体染色树突进行了定量分析。在非痴呆老年病例（平均年龄79.6岁）中，树突树比成年病例（平均年龄51.2岁）更广泛，大部分差异源于树突树终末节段数量和平均长度的增加。这些结果为成熟和老年人类大脑中的可塑性提供了形态学证据。在老年痴呆症（平均年龄76.0岁）中，树突树比成年大脑中的要少，主要是因为它们的终末节段更少且更短。在所有大脑中都发现了树突树萎缩的细胞。这些数据提示了一种中枢神经系统衰老模型，即一部分神经元死亡和退化，而另一部分存活并生长。后者似乎是无痴呆衰老过程中的主要群体。
