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Molecular mechanisms mediating pathological plasticity in Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease
Author(s) -
Spires Tara L.,
Hannan Anthony J.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2006.04275.x
Subject(s) - huntington's disease , neuroscience , disease , pathological , neuroplasticity , degenerative disease , alzheimer's disease , cognition , neurodegeneration , psychology , synaptic plasticity , plasticity , medicine , central nervous system disease , pathology , physics , thermodynamics , receptor
Neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's disease and Alzheimer's disease, although very different in etiology, share common degenerative processes. These include neuronal dysfunction, decreased neural connectivity, and disruption of cellular plasticity. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the neural plasticity deficits in these devastating conditions may lead the way toward new therapeutic targets, both disease‐specific and more generalized, which can ameliorate degenerative cognitive deficits. Furthermore, investigations of ‘pathological plasticity’ in these diseases lend insight into normal brain function. This review will present evidence for altered plasticity in Huntington's and Alzheimer's diseases, relate these findings to symptomatology, and review possible causes and commonalities.