How long is the period in which our brain produces new neurons - the debate continues

In adult mice and other rodents, new cells of the nervous system thrive in brain-related areas of memory. But with people, it does not stand that way.

This is the surprising conclusion after a series of human brain experiments of people of different ages, initially described during a November meeting. ( CH: 12/9/17, p.10 ). A more complete description of the findings, published online on 7 March in Nature , sheds light on the controversial results and also provides enough information for researchers looking for reasons to be skeptical about discoveries.

Contrary to earlier remarkable studies, Shawn Sorels of the University of California, San Francisco and colleagues fail to find new-formed nerve cells in the memory-associated hippocampus in adults. The team searches for these cells in dead brain samples in two ways: molecular markers that mark fission cells and young neurons, and evidence of new cells. Using these metrics, researchers noticed the beginnings of newly formed neurons in the fetal brain and brain from the first year of life, but they were rarely found in older children. In adults, this type of cells was completely lacking.

There is no sure way to detect new neurons, especially in living organisms; the easy way comes with objections.