Researchers at Columbia University have conducted studies that show that even in old age, a region of the brain called the hippocampus produces new nerve cells. This finding contradicts another recently published study about the failure of adults to develop new neurons.
There is an ongoing dispute as to whether neurons are formed in the adult brain. Recently, scientists from the University of California in San Francisco reported on a detailed study of human brain samples, according to which, after childhood, new nerve cells are practically no longer formed in the human brain.
For decades, adult brains were thought to be incapable of producing new cells. Recently, a team from Columbia University presented the results of an equally convincing study that shows that the human brain, specifically its region called the hippocampus (responsible, among others, for the functioning of memory and the processing of emotions), creates new neurons until old age.
The researchers studied the hippocampus of 28 previously healthy people, ages 14 to 79, who died suddenly. They claim that this is the first time that scientists have checked the entire hippocampus obtained shortly after the death of donors for the presence of new neurons and for blood supply.
At the same time, the researchers highlighted research in rodents and primates that showed a decline in the intensity of new neuron formation with age. The new results suggest that this is not the case for humans.
‘We found that older people, like young people, have the ability to create thousands of new neurons from progenitor cells in the hippocampus,’ said lead author Maura Boldrini, associate professor of neurobiology.
We also noticed similar volumes of the hippocampus in different age groups. However, older people had a less developed network of blood vessels, which may cause new neurons to form fewer connections, explains the researcher.
Seniors also had fewer stem cell-derived, inactive progenitor cells that can then become neurons.
Prof. Boldrini speculates that this reduced supply of cells, poorer blood supply, and the formation of connections between neurons may be the cause of cognitive decline and increased emotional sensitivity later in life.
It is possible that the neurogenesis in the hippocampus maintains cognitive abilities specific to humans, and its slowing may be associated with a decline in cognitive and emotional immunity, says the author of the study.
In her opinion, future research on brain aging will show how hormones, factors regulating gene activity and various intercellular relationships influence the formation, maturation and survival of nerve cells.
The research published in the journal Cell Stem Cell is hotly debated.
The researchers say Columbia University’s discovery is promising and could help develop new treatments for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease.