For most of the past century the scientific consensus held that the adult human brain did not produce any new neurons. Researchers overturned that theory in the 1990s, but what role new neurons played in the adult human brain remained a mystery. Recent work now sug­gests that one role may be to help the brain recover from traumatic brain injury.

Cory Blaiss, then at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and her colleagues genetically engineered mice such that the researchers could selectively turn neurogenesis on or off in a brain region called the hippocampus, a ribbon of tissue located under the neocortex that is important for learning and memory. They then administered blunt-force trauma to the brain and compared the performance of brain-injured mice that could produce new neurons to brain-­injured mice that could not. They sent each mouse through a water maze that required it to find a platform obscured beneath the surface of murky water. The researchers found that after injury only mice with intact neurogenesis could develop an efficient strategy to find the hid­den platform, a skill that is known to rely on spatial learning and memory. They concluded that without neurogenesis in the hippocampus, the recovery of cogni­tive functions after brain injury was signifi­cant­ly impaired.

The finding may lead to much needed therapeutic techniques. Deficits in learning and memory are nearly universal after a traumatic brain injury. The ability to stimulate more robust neurogenesis could lead to faster healing times or perhaps even more complete recovery of cognitive functions, a potentially life-changing prospect for the millions of people who suffer from traumatic brain injury every year.

This article was originally published with the title How Brains Bounce Back.

3 Comments

1. 1. Raghuvanshi1 11:09 PM 5/22/11

   I think post-traumatic stress disorder impossible to cure.Patient carry on this disease up to death.Impact of this disorder permanently changed the chemical pattern of brain.Here no question arise to new neutrons arising,suppose arise they cannot change the pattern of changed chemical.

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2. 2. saanvi 02:19 PM 8/12/11

   A fact! People can change the world simply by using their own energy said a Russian scientist. He asserted that thinking in a certain direction can have a positive or negative effect on the surrounding environment.
   
   http://funnyandspicy.com/science-revealing-the-secrets-of-your-aura-or-energy-field

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3. 3. KSama 12:42 PM 2/5/12

   When one has a brain injury it is equivalent to a brain 'bruise'. This bruise contains spilled blood. The spilled blood contains the metal iron. The metal iron in the brain has been linked to neurodegenerative disease. They have shown growth of neurons with the inclusion of iron binding drugs.
   "Neuroprotective/neuritogenic iron-chelating drugs "
   
   In the disease Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA) they have shown recovery by targeting the iron for removal.
   "Her gait returned to normal"
   "CNS injury-induced hemorrhage and tissue damage leads to excess iron, which can cause secondary degeneration."
   "Iron chelator therapy may improve functional recovery after CNS trauma and hemorrhagic stroke."
   "Neurodegenerative disease and iron storage in the brain"
   
   
   

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