Figure 1.

Schematic depiction of the current literature. (A) Normal aging causes microglial priming in key memory-mediating regions of the brain such that, upon proinflammatory challenge, exaggerated activation occurs, leading to deleterious neuroinflammation and memory impairment. In contrast, anti-inflammatory modifications reduce microglial activation, effectively reducing levels of neuroinflammation and leading to neuroprotection. (B) Examples of proinflammatory challenges (infection, surgery, or unhealthy diet) that compound the aging-associated microglial priming to exacerbate neuroinflammation; and examples of lifestyle modifications (exercise, dietary strategies, and environmental enrichment) demonstrated to have anti-neuroinflammatory benefits.