Until recently, the doctors believed that the process of neurogenesis only took place during embryogenesis. But then tests were carried out with mice and the results had clearly proven that nerve cells form in the animals' brain lively. A team of researchers from the Autonomous University in Madrid wanted to prove that this renewal also takes place in humans.
For this purpose, the scientists examined 13 rehearsals of healthy people and 45 samples from Alzheimer's patients. The focus was on the structure gyrus dentatus, which belongs to the hippocampus. In the hippocampus the information will besensory systemsProcessed and then sent back to the Cordex. This part of the human brain coordinates the short-term- long-term memory. If it is destroyed, people cannot form new memories. So it is no coincidence that the formation of new nerve cells was found in this part of the brain.
Determining whether neurons form in the human brain, or not, was actually not a difficult task for the researchers. The immature nerve cells go through well -defined stages of development before they become mature neurons. If the organ renews itself, these stages of development can be seen in the rehearsals. Indeed, the team was able to clearly prove that new nerve cells are developing for life. AtPatients with Alzheimer'sHowever, this neurogenesis was very impaired. In this way, problems with short -term memory in people with Alzheimer's can be explained with a significantly reduced nerve cell formation.
The scientists are now asking themselves whether a restored neuron formation counteract the disease, slow it down or even stop them completely.
