Cerebellar Purkinje cell firing reduction contributes to aging-related declining motor coordination in mice.

ABSTRACT: Aging is associated with the decline of many bodily functions including motor coordination. Aging-related impairment in motor coordination can result in falls, which reduce independence, health span, and quality of life in the elderly. To study the neural mechanisms that underlie this decline, we studied aged mice and observed a progressive decline in motor coordination on multiple motor coordination assays. The cerebellum is critically involved in motor coordination and balance, and cerebellar Purkinje cells play an important role in modulating motor output and coordinated movements. Purkinje cells fire high-frequency and high-regularity action potentials in healthy young adult mice. We wondered whether this firing remained stable across lifespan in aging mice. We performed juxtacellular

SUBMITTER: Fields E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12799110 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature