Neurogenesis in the aging brain

Abstract

Neurogenesis, or the birth of new neural cells, was thought to occur only in the developing nervous system and a fixed neuronal population in the adult brain was believed to be necessary to maintain the functional stability of adult brain circuitry. However, recent studies have demonstrated that neurogenesis does indeed continue into and throughout adult life in discrete regions of the central nervous systems (CNS) of all mammals, including humans. Although neurogenesis may contribute to the ability of the adult brain to function normally and be induced in response to cerebral diseases for self-repair, this nevertheless declines with advancing age. Understanding the basic biology of neural stem cells and the molecular and cellular regulation mechanisms of neurogenesis in young and aged brain will allow us to modulate cell replacement processes in the adult brain for the maintenance of healthy brain tissues and for repair of disease states in the elderly.

Keywords:

• neurogenesis
• aging
• brain
• neural stem cells
• subgranular zone
• subventricular zone

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grant NIRG-04-1054 from the Alzheimer’s Association and a grant from the Bechtel Foundation to VG, and by National Institute of Health (NIH) grant AG21980 to KJ.