Overview of age‐related changes in psychomotor and cognitive functions in a prosimian primate, the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus): Recent advances in risk factors and antiaging interventions.

Chaudron, Yohann; Pifferi, Fabien; Aujard, Fabienne

Aging is not homogeneous in humans and the determinants leading to differences between subjects are not fully understood. Impaired glucose homeostasis is a major risk factor for cognitive decline in middle‐aged humans, pointing at the existence of early markers of unhealthy aging. The gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus), a small lemuriform Malagasy primate, shows relatively slow aging with decreased psychomotor capacities at middle‐age (around 5‐year old). In some cases (∼10%), it spontaneously leads to pathological aging. In this case, some age‐related deficits, such as severe cognitive decline, brain atrophy, amyloidosis, and glucoregulatory imbalance are congruent with what is observed in humans. In the present review, we inventory the changes occurring in psychomotor and cognitive functions during healthy and pathological aging in mouse lemur. It includes a summary of the cerebral, metabolic, and cellular alterations that occur during aging and their relation to cognitive decline. As nutrition is one of the major nonpharmacological antiaging strategies with major potential effects on cognitive performances, we also discuss its role in brain functions and cognitive decline in this species. We show that the overall approach of aging studies in the gray mouse lemur offers promising ways of investigation for understanding, prevention, and treatments of pathological aging in humans. Research highlights: This review inventories the changes occurring in psychomotor and cognitive functions during healthy and pathological aging in gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus)Age‐related cognitive decline has been discussed in association with cerebral, metabolic, and cellular alterations, and in the context of antiaging nutritional strategiesThe gray mouse lemur is a promising model for the study and prevention of aging in humans

COGNITIVE ability; AGING prevention; PRIMATES; AGING; CEREBRAL atrophy; MICE; TELOMERES

American Journal of Primatology, 2021, Vol 83, Issue 11, p1

0275-2565

Academic Journal

10.1002/ajp.23337