brain plasticity;adding neurons in puberty (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, March 05, 2013, 15:53 (4282 days ago) @ David Turell

The brain adds neurons into puberty:-http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130304151847.htm-"in the past few years, researchers in MSU's neuroscience program have shown that mammalian brains also add cells during puberty in the amygdala and interconnected regions where it was thought no new growth occurred. The amygdala plays an important role in helping the brain make sense of social cues. For hamsters, it picks up signals transmitted by smell through pheromones; in humans, the amygdala evaluates facial expressions and body language.
 
"These regions are important for social behaviors, particularly mating behavior," said lead author Maggie Mohr, a doctoral student in neuroscience. 'So, we thought maybe cells that are added to those parts of the brain during puberty could be important for adult reproductive function.'"