brain plasticity: new neuron production (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, October 02, 2015, 14:36 (3341 days ago) @ David Turell

A long and complex article on the appearance and function new neurons in adults:-http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/44097/title/Brain-Gain/-"The basic idea is that, because young neurons are hyperexcitable and are still establishing their connectivity, they are amenable to incorporating information about the environment. If a mouse is placed in a new cage when young neurons are still growing and making connections, they may link up with the networks that encode a memory of the environment. Just a few months ago, researchers in Germany and Argentina published a mouse study demonstrating how, during a critical period of cellular maturation, new neurons' connections with the entorhinal cortex, the main interface between the hippocampus and the cortex, and with the medial septum change in response to an enriched environment.-“'The rate at which [new neurons] incorporate is dependent upon experience,” Gage says. “It's amazing. It means that the new neurons are encoding things when they're young and hyperexcitable that they can use as feature detectors when they're mature. It's like development is happening all the time in your brain.'”