Abstract
Adult neurogenesis is the generation of new neurons in the adult brain. Adult neurogenesis is an exception, as the brain of mammals is otherwise mostly non-neurogenic. Rodents and primates have two “canonical” neurogenic zones, the hippocampus, and the olfactory bulb. In addition, there is evidence about neurogenesis in the adult hypothalamus. Amphibian, fish, and bird species often have many more sites of adult neurogenesis. In the peripheral nervous system, there are high levels of adult neurogenesis in the olfactory epithelium. Neurogenesis of interneurons in the olfactory bulb originates from precursor cells in the wall of the lateral ventricle, the subventricular zone. In the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, new excitatory granule cells are generated that add to the mossy fiber tract into hippocampal area CA3. Numerous factors are known to regulate neurogenesis: it seems that adult neurogenesis responds very sensitively to external stimuli. The current hypothesis is that adult hippocampal neurogenesis critically contributes to hippocampal function, allowing life-long adaptation processes. If adult neurogenesis fails, this might contribute to several important diseases, including dementias, major depression, and schizophrenia, as well as temporal lobe epilepsy.
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Abbreviations
- Ascl1:
-
Official symbol of gene Achaete-scute complex homolog 1 (Drosophila), also known as Mash1
- BDNF:
-
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
- BLBP:
-
Brain lipid-binding protein, an antigen characteristic of radial glia
- CA1:
-
Cornu ammonis, area 1, the third relay station in the trisynaptic backbone of the hippocampus, projecting to the subiculum and back to the cerebral cortex
- CA3:
-
Cornu ammonis, area 3, the second relay station in the trisynaptic backbone of the hippocampus, projecting to CA1
- DCX:
-
Doublecortin, protein related to the cytoskeleton and associated with plasticity, expressed during intermediate stages of adult neurogenesis
- Dlx1:
-
Official symbol of gene Distal-less homeobox 1
- EGF:
-
Epidermal growth factor
- FGF2:
-
Fibroblast growth factor 2
- GABA:
-
Gammy amino butyric acid, inhibitory neurotransmitter
- GFAP:
-
Glial fibrillary acidic protein, intermediate filament that is the classical astrocytic marker, also expressed by the radial glia-like “stem cells”
- GLAST:
-
Glutamate transporter, an antigen expressed by radial glia
- Hes:
-
Official symbol of genes in the Hairy and enhancer of split family of genes
- IGF1:
-
Insulin-like growth factor 1
- LTP:
-
Long-term potentiation
- miRNA:
-
Micro-ribo nucleic acid, short regulatory pieces of RNA
- NeuroD:
-
Alias of gene Neurod1, neurogenic differentiation 1
- NG2:
-
Acronym standing for “neuron glia 2,” the proteoglycan that allows identification of the class of cells named after this antigen, a particular group of cells, partially with precursor cell properties that share some neuronal and glial features
- Ngn1:
-
Official symbol of gene Neurogenin 1
- Pax6:
-
Official symbol of gene Paired box gene 6
- Prox1:
-
Official symbol of gene Prospero-related homeobox 1
- PSA-NCAM:
-
Polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule, surface molecule expressed during intermediate stages of adult neurogenesis
- RMS:
-
Rostral migratory stream, the route of migration for neuroblasts between the SVZ and the olfactory bulb
- SGZ:
-
Subgranular zone, the germinative matrix in the adult hippocampus, situated between the band of granule cells in the dentate gyrus and the hilus
- SVZ:
-
Subventricular zone, in adult neurogenesis the germinative matrix immediately below the ependyma
- Tbr1:
-
Alias of gene Eomes
- Tbr1:
-
Official symbol of gene T-box brain gene 1
- VEGF:
-
Vascular endothelial growth factor
Further Reading
Denoth-Lippuner A, Jessberger S (2021) Formation and integration of new neurons in the adult hippocampus. Nat Rev Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-021-00433-z
Kempermann G (2012) New neurons for ‘survival of the fittest’. Nat Rev Neurosci 727–736. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3319
Kempermann G, Gage FH, Aigner L, Song H, Curtis MA, Thuret S, Kuhn HG, Jessberger S, Frankland PW, Cameron HA, Gould E, Hen R, Abrous DN, Toni N, Schinder AF, Zhao X, Lucassen PJ, Frisén J (2018) Human adult neurogenesis: evidence and remaining questions. Cell Stem Cell 23(1):25–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2018.04.004
Lim DA, Alvarez-Buylla A (2016) The adult ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) and olfactory bulb (OB) neurogenesis. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol a018820. https://doi.org/10.1101/cshperspect.a018820
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Kempermann, G. (2022). Adult Neurogenesis. In: Pfaff, D.W., Volkow, N.D., Rubenstein, J.L. (eds) Neuroscience in the 21st Century. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88832-9_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88832-9_9
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