Abstract
The synapse is a vitally important physiological structure fundamental to electrochemical communication between neurones, and is required for basic and important functions we perform daily. Underpinning the normal physiological function of the synapse are crucial processes such as autophagy, calcium homeostasis, and mitochondrial bioenergetics, all of which are modified during ageing. It is necessary to understand how ageing affects these processes at the synapse, from a fundamental need to understand natural ageing, and in order to identify how these processes may become aberrant and indeed, pathological, in the context of ageing-related disorders, such as Parkinson's. This review addresses the importance of the aforementioned processes, autophagy, calcium homeostasis, and mitochondrial bioenergetics at the synapse in normal physiology, and discusses how they are altered during ageing, and in Parkinson's, an example of accelerated ageing.