"Young and old adults with healthy cognition generated neurons, a process called neurogenesis, at high levels for their age. The team estimated that the new neurons made up only a small fraction - 0.01% - of those in the hippocampus, a brain region that's essential for memory. By contrast, in people experiencing cognitive decline, including individuals with Alzheimer's disease, neurogenesis seems to falter: the researchers spotted fewer developing, or immature, neurons in those brain samples."
"Understanding the tools that the brain uses to generate neurons and maintain cognitive function in old age could help researchers to develop drugs that induce neurogenesis in people with cognitive decline, says co-author Orly Lazarov, a neuroscientist at the University of Illinois Chicago."
"Surprisingly, a group of 'super agers' had an even higher number of immature neurons than did other groups, and significantly more than did those with Alzheimer's. However, the group sizes were small, so the findings were not all statistically significant."
A Nature study examining brain samples from deceased donors spanning young adults to super agers reveals that healthy cognition correlates with sustained neurogenesis in the hippocampus. Young and cognitively healthy older adults generate neurons at high levels for their age, though new neurons comprise only 0.01% of hippocampal neurons. Conversely, individuals experiencing cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease show reduced immature neuron development. Super agers demonstrated even higher immature neuron counts than other groups. However, small sample sizes limit statistical significance. Researchers suggest understanding neurogenesis mechanisms could enable drug development to restore neuron generation in cognitively declining populations.
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