Phase II year
1998
(last award dollars: 1999)
A comparative neurobiology of aging resource is being developed to amplify understanding of normal aging processes and to promote prevention and treatment of age- related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The resource provides scientific access to the brains of great apes following natural death in zoological gardens, research centers, and retirement sanctuaries as a means of studying aging in non-human primates most genetically, neurobiologically, behaviorally, and cognitively similar to humans. Noninvasive prospective assessments of behavior, cognition, and locomotor patterns, along with detailed clinical histories enhance the value of brains obtained opportunistically at autopsy. No animals are killed to obtain their brains. The repository allows direct comparisons of ape and human brains and uses methods similar to those employed in human brain banks maintained for the study of neurodegenerative diseases. An expert Advisory Review Board has been established to assure wise and optimal use of the resource by reviewing applications. A detailed chimpanzee brain atlas will be produced during Phase II.
Thesaurus Terms: Pongidae, aging, brain, method development, neurobiology, tissue resource /registry