Loss of Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Alzheimer ' s Disease

Neurogenesis is the process by which new neurons are produced from neural stem cells and then integrated into existing neural circuits in the brain. Adult neurogenesis is important to memory function, as well as to the resilience of the brain to injury and degeneration. Neurogenesis declines with age, and is noted to be one of the many aspects of neural biology that is negatively impacted by the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Is this loss of neurogenesis secondary to the better known disease mechanisms associated with Alzheimer's? Is it important enough to be pursued as a basis for therapy? Researchers here discuss the topic. The hippocampus, a critical hub for cognition and memory, is one of the first brain regions to be affected in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The dentate gyrus (DG), a hippocampal subfield implicated in learning and memory, particularly in pattern separation, shows substantial age-related functional decline in humans, non-human primates, and rodents. The DG is further unique as it contains the so-called "neurogenic niche," wherein stem cells continue to generate new neurons in the adult brain, in a special form of cellular plasticity referred to as "adult hippocampal neurogenesis" (AHN). Adult-born dentate granule cells (aDGCs) functionally incorporate into the granule cell layer of the DG as part of the hippocampal circuitry, where they, via their unique physiological properties, play key roles in neural plasticity and cognition. AHN has been...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs