neurogenesis

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.

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.

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.

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.

Adult neurogenesis, already appreciated for its role in learning and memory, also participates in mental health and possibly even attention, new research suggests.

Microglia ingest nerve cell connections, leading to the loss of information stored in neuronal circuits.

Cutting-edge microscopy is revealing how new neurons made in adult mice’s brains tap into existing neuronal connections.

New, unpublished results show some of the cells produce new neurons for up to 90 days, much longer than a previously identified set of neural stem cells that only generate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.

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.

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.

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.

Boosting both neurogenesis and a brain-derived growth factor can mimic the cognitive benefits of exercise in a mouse mode of Alzheimer’s disease.

In adult mice, neurogenesis increases social confidence by suppressing the activity of mature neurons.

Researchers identified thousands of immature neurons in the brain region, countering a recent result showing little, if any, signs of neurogenesis.

Failure to produce evidence of neural precursor cells and immature neurons raises questions about the role of the process in learning and memory.

The compound, BCI-838, is already in human clinical trials as a possible treatment for depression.

Single-cell genome analyses reveal the amount of mutations a human brain cell will collect from its fetal beginnings until death.

Male rodents given access to a running wheel early in life show increased neural activity and improved memory as adults.

Once implanted into animals’ brains, neural stem cells that secrete microRNA-containing vesicles seem to contribute to an anti-aging effect.