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Adult neurogenesis - Scholarpedia
Adult neurogenesis is the process of generating new neurons which integrate into existing circuits after fetal and early postnatal development has ceased. In most mammalian species, adult neurogenesis only appears to occur in the olfactory bulb and the hippocampus.
michael specter--rethinking the brain
To study the environmental effects, Nottebohm compared the brains of birds kept in cages with those of birds that lived in the wild. Again, the differences were striking: a free-ranging chickadee, which has to avoid predators and forage for its food, produced larger numbers of new neurons in the hippocampus--the part of the brain that plays an essential role in the storage of memories--than a caged chickadee. In cold weather, a chickadee becomes desperate for calories; it must eat before it sleeps or it will die. So remembering the many places where it stashes seeds is of urgent importance.
Lobes of Steel - New York Times
Scientists have suspected for decades that exercise, particularly regular aerobic exercise, can affect the brain. But they could only speculate as to how. Now an expanding body of research shows that exercise can improve the performance of the brain by boosting memory and cognitive processing speed. Exercise can, in fact, create a stronger, faster brain.
Is More Neurogenesis Always Better?
For decades, it was believed that the adult mammalian brain could not generate new neurons, but during the 1990s, that concept changed. Evidence of the birth of new neurons in adult mammals, including humans, raised expectations for improved treatment for patients with central nervous system injury or illness. But this enthusiasm has been tempered since then, as more recent studies indicate that excess adult neurogenesis can be as detrimental as a deficit. In some cases, the clinical relevance of increasing neurogenesis may need to be reconsidered.
Young neurons led astray
"Cdk5 therefore appears to be crucial only for later stages of the maturation of newborn neurons. The authors suggest that the improper connections formed by these cells could interfere with information processing in the hippocampus. However, they did not carry out any behavioural tests to explore the consequences of blocking cdk5 activity. This would be an interesting thing to do next, given the recent discovery that new neurons are needed for new memories. Nevertheless, the new findings could have important implications for the use of stem cells in cell replacement therapies for neurological diseases, as they suggest that cells would have to be transplanted accurately into specific locations in order to be effective. " (Neurophilosophy)
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