Understanding age-related neurophysiological changes is crucial for identifying brain aging biomarkers and developing strategies against motor and cognitive decline. To explore aging-related patterns across multiple domains, this study assessed motor and cognitive performance, functional connectivity, and synaptic organization in Young (4 months), Adult (14 months), and Old (24 months) mice. Adult mice exhibited reduced locomotor activity (−50.3%) and forelimb force (−38.3%) compared to Young mice, while Old mice showed decline in spatial (−30.4%) and recognition memory (−40.3%). Golgi–Cox staining revealed region-specific changes in spine density, including an increase in motor cortex layer II/III pyramidal neurons in Old versus Adult mice and reductions in the medial prefrontal cortex and CA1 hippocampal region. Immunofluorescence analysis indicated age-related alterations in VGLUT and VGAT expression across brain regions. Local field potential recordings revealed no significant changes in functional connectivity across age groups. Integration of behavioral and electrophysiological features using machine learning for an exploratory yielded a classification accuracy of 0.798. Although this represented only a modest and non-significant improvement over behavioral features alone, the highest pairwise discrimination was observed between Adult and Old mice (AUC = 0.861). Overall, these findings provide a multilevel descriptive analysis of brain aging, highlighting distinct behavioral and structural alterations alongside preserved functional connectivity.
Cleft palate is a congenital anomaly that causes functional and esthetic challenges, and the hard palate is essential for feeding, speech, and separation of the oral and nasal cavities. Yet, current reconstructive techniques do not restore its bony component. Building on previous in vitro work showing that decellularized palatal mucoperiosteum, microperforated with Quantum Molecular Resonance (QMR®) technology and recellularized with mesenchymal stem cells, preserves the collagen microenvironment, supports engraftment, and shows osteoinductive potential, this study evaluated the early feasibility and regenerative potential of bioengineered mucoperiosteal scaffolds (BEMS) in Landrace pigs model. Bone marrow was collected from recipient pigs to isolate pBM-MSCs. Donor palatal mucoperiosteum was decellularized, microperforated, and recellularized with these cells to generate BEMS. After surgical creation of a cleft palate, four pigs received BEMS, and two controls underwent standard palatoplasty. At one month, scaffold-treated animals showed early mucosal and osseous regeneration, including neo-epithelium, connective tissue, and new bone formation, without clinical or routine histological signs of acute rejection. SPARC (Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine) expression supported osteogenic activity. Regenerated palates were stable and fracture-resistant, whereas controls showed incomplete repair and fractures. These findings suggest that BEMS may address limitations of conventional palatal reconstruction and support further investigation for human palatal bone regeneration.