# AGING OF THE STRIATAL MOTOR SYSTEM IN MAN

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 1992 · $133,595

## Abstract

A major research goal of our laboratory is to understand how age-related
changes in the striatal motor system may contribute to the on-set and
progression of human neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's (PD)
and Huntington's (HD) diseases.  In particular, studies conducted in our
laboratory over the last several years have used the C57BL/6N mouse as an
animal model to define the temporal sequence of age-related morphological
changes that occur in two areas of the brain critically involved in PD and
HD, ie. the striatum (ST) and substantia nigra (SN).  However, while these
studies have provided solid examples of how age-related morphological
changes in the brain are both brain region- and cell type-specific it is
currently unclear how closely our findings in mice parallel normal aging in
the SN and ST of man since detailed comparative studies between rodent and
postmortem human brain are lacking.  In addition, the issue of age-related
DA cell loss is of particular importance in man, because the dogma that
aging is associated with a progressive loss of DA neurons in the SN of man
has been entrenched in the literature since the data was published in 1977
(78) and remains the single factor that ties together all the current
theories regarding the etiopathology of PD (reviewed in 29,70).  However,
the data upon which this dogma is based is uncertain at best
(3,44,76,78,91) and recent findings from our own laboratory as well as
those of others suggest that DA cell loss is not characteristic of normal
aging in either mice, non-human primates or man (see preliminary data).  As
part of the studies proposed we will test the hypothesis that aging is not
associated with a progressive decline in DA neurons of the SN and compare
our findings with our previous data obtained from mice and non-human
primates.  If our hypothesis is proven to be correct the data obtained will
form the basis for reexamining all of the basic theories regarding the
etiopathology of PD as well-as studies which examine the cellular basis for
the death of DA neurons.

In addition, data from our studies will provide information which is
fundamental to establishing the extent to which rodents and non-human
primates may serve as useful animal models of normal aging in man and
further our understanding of how age-related changes in the SN and ST may
contribute to the onset and progression of human neurodegenerative
diseases, such as PD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3121554
- **Project number:** 1R01AG009644-01A2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **SAM.gov UEI:** G88KLJR3KYT5
- **Principal Investigator:** THOMAS Hugh MCNEILL
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1992
- **Award amount:** $133,595
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 1992-09-30 → 1995-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3121554

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3121554, AGING OF THE STRIATAL MOTOR SYSTEM IN MAN (1R01AG009644-01A2). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3121554. Licensed CC0.

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