Source: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: May 5, 2011
Summary:
Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. – A new study from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) offers an explanation for why our brains produce fewer and fewer neurons with age, a phenomenon thought to underlie age-related cognitive decline. The study, published as the cover story in the May 6 issue of Cell Stem Cell, suggests that this drop in production is due to the shrinking cache of adult stem cells in our brains. The new neurons are critical for some facets of memory—for instance, when similar events need to be memorized as separate episodes—and for the response to anti-depressant therapies and repair after brain injury.
