What this means
This review looks at how the dopamine system changes in healthy aging and what helps it keep working. It does not show that any step will prevent brain disease.
Plain-English summary written by an AI model from the abstract. The original is below.
- Who it was tested in
- A review of studies in flies, mice, rats, and humans
- Kind of research
- A summary of earlier studies
The science
- Original title
- Resilience and vulnerability in the midbrain dopamine system during aging.
- Authors
- McMurtrie G, Mabry SJ, Glausier JR et al.
- Journal
- Trends in neurosciences
- Published
- Oct 14, 2026
- Study type
- Review
- PMID
- 42875276 ↗
Abstract
The midbrain dopamine system is integral to movement, reward, and motivation, and its dysfunction underlies a range of brain disorders. Age is a primary risk factor for many of these disorders, yet systematic analysis of how the dopamine system changes during healthy aging remains relatively understudied. In this review, we first examine the impact of healthy aging on the dopamine system across sexes and species, including flies, mice, rats, and humans. We next consider the neuroadaptive mechanisms that sustain dopamine neuron function with age. Finally, we contrast the molecular mechanisms of age-related neurodegenerative diseases with those of healthy aging, exploring the possibility that loss of neuroadaptive reserve drives dopamine neurodegeneration. Elucidating these neuroadaptive mechanisms could offer a path toward preserving dopamine neuron function across the lifespan and potentially preventing age-related neurodegeneration.
McMurtrie G, Mabry SJ, Glausier JR et al. Resilience and vulnerability in the midbrain dopamine system during aging. Trends in neurosciences. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2026.09.008. PMID: 42875276. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42875276/