Among aging-induced impairments, those affecting cognitive functions certainly represent one the most major challenge to face to improve elderly quality of life. In last decades, our knowledge on changes in the morphology and function of neuronal networks associated with normal and pathological brain aging has rapidly progressed, initiating the development of different pharmacological and behavioural strategies to alleviate cognitive aging. In particular, experimental evidences have accumulated indicating that the communication between neurons and its plasticity gradually weakens with aging. Because of its pivotal role for brain functional plasticity, the N-Methyl‑d-Aspartate receptor subtype of glutamate receptors (NMDAr) has gathered much of the experimental interest. NMDAr activation is regulated by many mechanisms. Among is the mandatory binding of a co-agonist, such as the amino acid d-serine, in order to activate NMDAr. This mini-review presents the most recent information indicating how d-serine could contribute to mechanisms of physiological cognitive aging and also considers the divergent views relative of the role of the NMDAr co-agonist in Alzheimer's disease.

在衰老引起的障碍中，影响认知功能的障碍无疑是改善老年人生活质量所面临的最大挑战之一。在过去的几十年中，我们对与正常和病理性脑衰老相关的神经元网络的形态和功能变化的认识迅速发展，从而启动了各种缓解认知衰老的药理和行为策略的开发。特别是，积累的实验证据表明，神经元之间的交流及其可塑性随着年龄的增长而逐渐减弱。由于其对大脑功能可塑性的关键作用，N-甲基-d-谷氨酸受体（NMDAr）的天冬氨酸受体亚型引起了许多实验兴趣。NMDAr激活受多种机制调控。其中之一是为了激活NMDAr而必须结合的辅助激动剂，例如氨基酸d-丝氨酸。这项小型综述提供了最新信息，这些信息表明d-丝氨酸如何有助于生理性认知衰老的机制，还考虑了NMDAr激动剂在阿尔茨海默氏病中的作用的相对观点。