Table 1.

Comparison: normal and pathological aging.

Comparison	Normal aging	Pathological aging
Clinical	Mild defects in short term memory	Severe defects in short term and long term memory
Molecular	Mild accumulation of amyloid plaques	Severe and diffuse accumulation of amyloid plaques
Cellular	Impaired synaptic function	Neuronal loss and synaptic loss, loss of dendritic branches