Recalibrating the Existence of New Neurons in Adult Brain

Abstract

New neurons were shown to born throughout adulthood, a process known as neurogenesis. Last year, the human hippocampal neurogenesis field was flipped on its head by a paper in Nature from Sorrells et al. questioning the presence of human hippocampal neurogenesis during adulthood ( Sorrells, S.F. et al. 2018 Nature , 555 , 377 - 381 ). Now, a new study by Moreno-Jiménez et al. reported that human brain can make new neurons well beyond middle age until the tenth decade of their life, and earlier studies have failed to find the neurogenesis due to its flawed methods. This paper also finds that production of new neurons drastically drops in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Here, we discuss key findings of this paper, emphasizing how improved protocols and tissue preservation lead to visualization of adult neurogenesis and further highlighting in what way this drop of neurogenesis in Alzheimer's disease brain could possibly open new roads to therapy.

Keywords: Adult neurogenesis; Alzheimer’s disease; dentate gyrus; hippocampus; human; neuron.