Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

New neurons are formed in the brain well into old age — but this stops in Alzheimer’s

This is an exciting new twist on neurogenesis.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
March 25, 2019
in Neurology, News

The magic happens in the hippocampus.

Image credits: Gerry Shaw.

The majority of our neurons are already in place by the time we are born, although some are still produced during childhood. Traditionally, it was thought that no new neurons are produced during adulthood, but researches are still arguing whether this is truly the case.

Neurogenesis, the production of new neurons, has remained a controversial topic. A recent study found that even if new neurons are produced into adulthood, this process happens early in adulthood, and is very limited. Other studies have claimed that neurogenesis doesn’t happen at all, while some teams have reported evidence of new neurons being formed. The situation is still murky, but a new study tries to clear the waters, reporting that neurons are formed well into old age.

According to a paper published in Nature Medicine, new neurons continuously develop in the healthy human brain up to the ninth decade of life — at least in the hippocampus. Maria Llorens-Martin and colleagues from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid analyzed tissue samples from 58 human participants.

They found that while neurogenesis can decline with old age, it is still present across the lifespan in the hippocampus, particularly in an area called the dentate gyrus, a region associated with the formation of new episodic memories and the spontaneous exploration of novel environments.

They also find that this process decreases sharply in people suffering from Alzheimer’s.

“By combining human brain samples obtained under tightly controlled conditions and state-of-the-art tissue processing methods, we identified thousands of immature neurons in the dentate gyrus of neurologically healthy human subjects up to the ninth decade of life. These neurons exhibited variable degrees of maturation along differentiation stages. In sharp contrast, the number and maturation of these neurons declined as AD advanced.”

So not only does the study provide new insight on neurogenesis, but it also highlights a mechanism associated with Alzheimer’s.

“The hippocampus is one of the most affected areas in Alzheimer’s disease,” researchers write in the paper. “Moreover, this structure hosts one of the most unique phenomena of the adult mammalian brain, namely, the addition of new neurons throughout life.”

As for the discrepancies between this study and previous results, researchers say it’s owed to methodological differences. Having high-quality samples and processing them properly and quickly is vital, they argue — otherwise, the evidence of neurogenesis can be destroyed. Factors such as tissue fixation techniques or delays in the time between tissue acquisition and processing can alter the results, they explain.

“Our data demonstrate that the prolonged or uncontrolled fixation conditions to which human samples are typically exposed in brain banks worldwide lead to a sharp reduction in the number of [neurons] detected in the adult dentate gyrus,” the paper concludes.

The study “Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is abundant in neurologically healthy subjects and drops sharply in patients with Alzheimer’s disease” has been published in Nature Medicine.

 

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Giant neurons that circle the brain like a crown of thorns could explain how consciousness originates in the brain
  2. How infants start relating to other people past age 4. Critical brain fiber matures around that age
  3. IBM Scientists make phase-changing Artificial Neurons to mimic the Computer Power of Human Brain
  4. Non-toxic spray stops mosquitoes from reproducing, halts spread of malaria
  5. “This is not a drill” — it’s time to pull all the stops on the coronavirus, World Health Organization urges
Tags: alzheimer's diseaseneurogenesisneuron

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW