The adult brain also has new neurons

Above: 2 cases of neonatal immature serrated granular neurons
.

Image source: Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Will new brain cells be produced in adulthood? New evidence suggests that the answer is yes, and that new neurons have been observed in rodents throughout life, but this phenomenon has not yet been finally confirmed
in humans.

The discovery by a team led by scientists at the University of Pennsylvania that there are new, immature neurons in the hippocampus of adult brain regions has important implications
for our understanding of brain function and the treatment and understanding of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Neurogenesis in the adult stage of the hippocampus

Neurogenesis in adulthood, the ability to produce new brain cells in adulthood, has been hotly debated by neuroscientists, largely because of flaws
in the methods used to find evidence.

To solve this problem, they used a mononuclear RNA sequencing technique that allows a "snap" of all genetically translated RNAs within a sample cell
.

The team used this method to study
hippocampus samples from newborns up to the age of 93, as well as some Alzheimer's disease patients.

By sampling tissues throughout the human life cycle, they will be able to detect differences
in the growth of new neurons throughout the life cycle and during disease.

As such an active brain region, any observation can give us a better idea
of the brain's ability to adapt and learn over time.

However, simply studying the role of neuronal genes in one sample is not enough to distinguish the age
of these brain cells.

Professor Song said: "Immature neurons are similar to mature neurons – they are the same neural subtype and express many similar genes
.

To detect the nuances between them, the researchers turned to artificial intelligence
.

Using tissue samples from prenatal and newborns, they created an algorithm that can accurately distinguish and quantify differences in gene expression between mature and immature neurons, and use this to show which brain samples have new immature neurons
.

The results clearly show the presence of immature neurons in adult hippocampal
tissues.

Surprisingly, they also found that depending on the person's age, the genes that play a role in their newly formed neurons also changed, meaning that newborns and adults have different functions
from new neurons.

While researchers don't yet know what these different functions might be, proving that these neurons exist and utilize different combinations of genes is still an exciting finding
.

For example, in Alzheimer's patients, the team showed that they not only produced fewer new neurons than healthy people, but also functioned genes differently
.

In terms of treatment, increasing the number of new neurons in Alzheimer's patients may not treat the disease
.

The new neurons produced behave differently than
healthy neurons.

It is important to know, but it also brings many new problems

This study represents an important breakthrough
in brain research.

It shows that these techniques are effective, while showing that the production of new neurons not only occurs throughout a human lifetime, but that these new cells have different functions
at different stages of our lives and in patients and healthy people.

According to Professor Song, the next step is to analyze samples from other brain diseases and find the stem cells
responsible for generating new neurons.

Professor Song said: "I think, from the perspective of treatment, but also from the perspective of biological mechanisms, we want to know where they come from and what differences there are in terms of different ages or different diseases.
"

WILEY

Reference: Guo-li Ming, Hongjun Song, et al, Molecular landscapes of human hippocampal immature neurons across lifespan.

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