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An APP-knockout neuron (right) shows extended axonal and reduced dendritic growth compared with a normal mouse neuron (left).
Amyloid Precursor Protein Linked to Brain Development Mechanisms
Researchers provide evidence that the Alzheimer’s-associated protein calibrates a signaling pathway that is conserved across the animal kingdom.
Amyloid Precursor Protein Linked to Brain Development Mechanisms
Amyloid Precursor Protein Linked to Brain Development Mechanisms

Researchers provide evidence that the Alzheimer’s-associated protein calibrates a signaling pathway that is conserved across the animal kingdom.

Researchers provide evidence that the Alzheimer’s-associated protein calibrates a signaling pathway that is conserved across the animal kingdom.

neurogenesis

Reduced Adult Neurogenesis Linked with Alzheimer’s Disease
Abby Olena, PhD | Feb 1, 2021 | 6 min read
Manipulating the production of new neurons can improve cognition in animal models of the disease, raising the possibility that figuring out a way for humans to make more neurons could make a difference for people with dementia.
Editor’s Picks of The Scientist’s Best Infographics of 2020
Jef Akst | Dec 15, 2020 | 2 min read
This year’s most captivating illustrations tell stories from the micro scale—such as newborn neurons in the adult brain and bacteria in the infant gut—to the scale of entire ecosystems, including reintroduced predators and rising seas.
Shrew Brains Shrink During Winter
Abby Olena, PhD | Dec 3, 2020 | 4 min read
The animals kill off around one-quarter of the neurons in their somatosensory cortex, perhaps to save energy, and the cells appear to return the following summer.
Adult-Born Neurons Strengthen Memories While Mice Sleep
Ruth Williams | Jun 4, 2020 | 3 min read
The activation of young brain cells in adult mice is necessary not just for forming memories, but consolidating them during rapid eye movement sleep, a study shows.
What Do New Neurons in the Brains of Adults Actually Do?
Ashley Yeager | May 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
Adult neurogenesis, already appreciated for its role in learning and memory, also participates in mental health and possibly even attention, new research suggests.
How Immune Cells Make the Brain Forget
Ashley Yeager | May 1, 2020 | 4 min read
Microglia ingest nerve cell connections, leading to the loss of information stored in neuronal circuits.
Infographic: How Adult-Born Neurons Integrate into the Brain
Ashley Yeager | May 1, 2020 | 2 min read
Cutting-edge microscopy is revealing how new neurons made in adult mice’s brains tap into existing neuronal connections.
Long-Lived Neural Stem Cells Identified in Living Mice
Ashley Yeager | Oct 22, 2019 | 2 min read
New, unpublished results show some of the cells produce new neurons for up to 90 days, much longer than a previously identified set of neural stem cells that only generate neurons for a month or two.
New Tools in the Works to Probe Adult Human Neurogenesis
Ashley Yeager | Oct 7, 2019 | 6 min read
Conflicting results on the existence of new neurons in adults have researchers designing new ways to identify and count neuronal progenitors—and finally get to the bottom of neurogenesis.
More Evidence that Humans Do Appear to Create New Neurons in Old Age
Ashley Yeager | Mar 25, 2019 | 4 min read
Despite doubts last year about human adult neurogenesis, a study shows even 80-year-olds develop new cells in the hippocampus, but such growth is diminished in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
neurogenesis hippocampus platelets
A New Role for Platelets: Boosting Neurogenesis After Exercise
Katarina Zimmer | Mar 21, 2019 | 4 min read
A mouse study finds that when blood platelets are activated during exercise, they release factors that increase the number of newborn neurons in the hippocampus.
Exercise’s Benefits to Dementia Can Be Made Chemically
Ruth Williams | Sep 6, 2018 | 3 min read
Boosting both neurogenesis and a brain-derived growth factor can mimic the cognitive benefits of exercise in a mouse mode of Alzheimer’s disease.
Young Brain Cells Silence Old Ones to Quash Anxiety
Ruth Williams | Jun 27, 2018 | 3 min read
In adult mice, neurogenesis increases social confidence by suppressing the activity of mature neurons.
Abundant Neurogenesis Found in Adult Humans’ Hippocampi
Ashley Yeager | Apr 5, 2018 | 4 min read
Researchers identified thousands of immature neurons in the brain region, countering a recent result showing little, if any, signs of neurogenesis.
Study Finds No Neurogenesis in Adult Humans’ Hippocampi
Ashley Yeager | Mar 7, 2018 | 4 min read
Failure to produce evidence of neural precursor cells and immature neurons raises questions about the role of the process in learning and memory.
Experimental Drug Relieves Blast-Related PTSD in a Rat Model of Traumatic Brain Injury
Viviane Callier | Feb 1, 2018 | 4 min read
The compound, BCI-838, is already in human clinical trials as a possible treatment for depression.
Thousands of Mutations Accumulate in the Human Brain Over a Lifetime
Ruth Williams | Dec 7, 2017 | 4 min read
Single-cell genome analyses reveal the amount of mutations a human brain cell will collect from its fetal beginnings until death.
Rats that Run Have Better Memory
Jef Akst | Aug 14, 2017 | 3 min read
Male rodents given access to a running wheel early in life show increased neural activity and improved memory as adults.
Stem Cells in the Hypothalamus Slow Aging in Mice
Ashley P. Taylor | Jul 26, 2017 | 4 min read
Once implanted into animals’ brains, neural stem cells that secrete microRNA-containing vesicles seem to contribute to an anti-aging effect.
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