Adult brains make no new 'memory' cells New research led by the University of California, San Francisco suggests that the human hippocampus, or the brain region that is important for memory and learning, stops making new cells in childhood. The findings, which have been published in the journal Nature, are likely to fan the flames of an already heated debate about the human brain's capacity to heal itself through "neurogenesis," or the birth of new brain cells. "We find," explains Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, who is a professor of neurological surgery working at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the head of the laboratory behind the study, "that if neurogenesis occurs in the adult hippocampus in humans, it is an extremely rare phenomenon, raising questions about its contribution to brain repair or normal brain function." The study challenges a growing body of evidence that suggests that it may be possible to treat brain-wasting disorders such as Alzheimer's disease by promoting neurogenesis to replenish the brain cells, or neurons, that are destroyed by disease. However, the undaunted authors point instead to the new questions that their findings raise, such as how does the human brain adapt and learn if it cannot make new neurons? Perhaps the answers to this question will open an even better path to new treatments for brain diseases, they suggest. #mednews #surgery #medicalschool #scrubs #medicine #medstudent #anatomy #surgeon #medstudentlife #medicine #clinical#health #healthcare #dentist #nurse #nursery #nursingschool #patients #thebestdoctor #medblog #photography #instagram#success #nice#georgia #health #instagram #instagood #istanbul #nice#photoshoot #photography #love #healthyfood
