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For decades, neuroscientists have been arguing over a foundational question: Does neurogenesis happen in the adult brain? Using a new technique, scientists have found newly formed neurons in the brains of adults as old as age 78 – and, for the first time, have identified the other brain cells that birthed them.

The results, published recently in Science magazine, support the idea that adult neurogenesis occurs in the human hippocampus and there are signs that cells with the capacity to turn into neurons, called neural precursor cells, exist in adult human brains.

The scientists analyzed the human hippocampus from birth through adulthood by single-nucleus RNA sequencing from more than 100,000 cells. After identifying corresponding markers in young brains, the team then searched for those same signatures in 19 postmortem brains ranging from 13 to 78 years old. All of the brains contained immature neurons except one. The researchers also found neural precursor cells in each of the child brains and in 12 of the 19 adolescent and adult brains.

Compared to the other adults, two of them exhibited significantly more neural precursor cells and immature neurons. The younger of these two individuals had experienced epilepsy, which may be linked to the apparent abundance of neurogenesis. 

After the adult neurogenesis question has been resolved, scientists can now begin to gain a deeper understanding of the role of neurogenesis in the brain and its impact on a variety of disorders.

Source: Science.org