Neurophysiology of Aged Animals. Biophysical and Biochemical Nervous System Aspects of Aging

Abstract

We assume that any behavior — be it “external” (namely motor and/or autonomic activity) or “internal” (i.e., mental activity, namely, thinking, memorizing, remembering, attention, or “overall patterns,” such as various levels of general and local vigilance, mood and motivation) — is the manifestation of a particular time — intensity — space — pattern of neuronal activity. Indeed, the neuropsychophysiologist has already collected an impressing amount of data relating neural and/or neuronal activity to certain behavioral phenomena. We start to understand particular activity patterns in various CNS structures down to single units as the basis of such behavioral components as specific motor acts, autonomic output, learning, memory, sleep, pleasure, reward, and sensory perception. We have learned a great deal about the importance of the temporal relations in discharge patterns of neighboring neurons on the one hand, and information handling on the other. We have gathered a staggering amount of new data concerning specialized transmitters in the CNS and their involvement in certain behavioral functions.