Young and excitable: new neurons in memory networks

A brain region that is important for memory, new neurons are generated continuously

Josef Bischofberger

2007

Scholarcy highlights

  • Young and excitable: new neurons in memory networks
  • A brain region that is important for memory, new neurons are generated continuously
  • The hippocampal formation within the medial temporal lobe of the cerebral cortex is essential for our conscious memory of facts and events1
  • The hippocampus is one of the few regions in the central nervous system of adult mammals, including humans, where new neurons are continuously generated throughout life2
  • Until now, little was known about the synaptic activation of newly generated hippocampal neurons in vivo
  • Do they form 'meaningful' synapses in a context- and information-specific manner? Are they reactivated during memory recall? is there a specific property of newly generated cells that might lead to a specific role in learning and memory processing? A paper in this issue by Kee and colleagues provides exciting new data to answer some of these questions3

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