Controversial study claims human memory cells do not grow throughout life, but stop regenerating before adulthood

( Natural News ) Until the early 1980s, scientists accepted the findings of Santiago Ramón y Cajal – the father of modern neuroscience – that adult brains do not experience neurogenesis, the process in which the brain renews itself by producing new neurons. Experts started questioning this belief in the past few decades, however, after research confirmed that other animals – including songbirds and rodents – experience neurogenesis throughout their lifespans. Scientists also claimed to have found evidence of newly formed neurons in the brains of adult humans. For decades now, it has been understood that adult humans do indeed experience neurogenesis, and that this process can be enhanced through diet and other means to prevent and possibly even reverse cognitive decline. Multiple studies have been undertaken to find ways to boost neurogenesis in patients who have had a stroke or who have Alzheimer’s disease or other degenerative illnesses. (Related: Memories “lost” to Alzheimer’s can be retrieved; they’re not lost after all, new science discovers .) Now, a new study by researchers from the University of California , San Francisco (UCSF) , published in the journal Nature , has taken the scientific world by storm, claiming that neurogenesis in the human hippocampus – the region responsible for learning and memory – declines steadily throughout childhood and disappears almost entirely in adulthood. “We find that if neurogenesis occurs in the adult hippocampus in humans, it is an extremely rare phenomenon, raising questions about its contribution to brain repair or normal brain function,” said Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Ph.D., a professor of neurological surgery at UCSF. Get CLEAN FOOD and help support our mission to keep you informed : The Health Ranger Store lab verifies everything we sell with accredited testing for heavy metals, microbiology and food safety. Certified organic facility, ISO-accredited on-site […]

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