Fresh Neurons Seed the Human Striatum Throughout Life

I think we covered some news on this earlier - but Schizophrenia Research Forum has another good writeup. I think this is really good news because it shows that you can change your brain (and potentially heal it) throughout your life. There is always hope!

Fresh Neurons Seed the Human Striatum Throughout Life

March 3, 2014. In most regions of the brain, you don’t get a second chance: The neurons you’re born with are the only ones you’ll ever have. Now, researchers have discovered that fresh starts abound in the striatum, a part of the brain that integrates motor and cognitive functions. Measuring tiny traces of carbon-14 that integrated into people’s DNA to date the age of neurons, investigators led by Jonas Frisén at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm report that the striatum receives regular shipments of neural precursors throughout life. Interestingly, striatal tissue from people with Huntington’s disease lacks these newcomers. Reported in the February 20 Cell, the findings reveal a new pattern of adult brain neurogenesis and, if replicated, open up the potential for new treatment strategies aimed at neurodegenerative disease and stroke.

http://www.schizophreniaforum.org/new/detail.asp?id=2011

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