Nice to hear that a new study found that across the lifespan, human brains are capable of producing new neurons (neurogenesis). Neurons are nerve cells, what we popularly call brain cells, and are the basic working unit of the nervous system. The human brain contains about 100 billion neurons.
The researchers did find some age differences (e.g. with age there was less neuroplasticity or the brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections, and a decline in angiogenesis - the development of new blood vessels). But still... the findings are reassuring. Interesting how the researchers did the study. They examined 28 brains (specifically, newly formed neurons and the state of blood vessels within the hippocampus) right after death from previously healthy people (aged 14 to 79), who died suddenly.
While they found age differences, they did not find gender differences. The researchers summarized that healthy older subjects without cognitive impairment (meaning they were mentally healthy), neuropsychiatric disease, or treatment (e.g. depression drugs or psychotropic drugs) display preserved neurogenesis (produce new neurons) throughout life. From Science Daily:
Older adults grow just as many new brain cells as young people
Researchers show for the first time that healthy older men and women can generate just as many new brain cells as younger people.
There has been controversy over whether adult humans grow new neurons, and some research has previously suggested that the adult brain was hard-wired and that adults did not grow new neurons. This study, to appear in the journal Cell Stem Cell on April 5, counters that notion. Lead author Maura Boldrini, associate professor of neurobiology at Columbia University, says the findings may suggest that many senior citizens remain more cognitively and emotionally intact than commonly believed. ...continue reading "Some Good News About The Aging Brain"