Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) neuroscientists at The University of Queensland have been able to identify a fundamental component of the process that regulates memory formation.
QBI Director Professor Perry Bartlett says the discovery explained, for the first time, how new nerve cells form in an area of the brain associated with learning and memory.“The hippocampus is the region of the brain involved in important brain functions such as learning and memory and loss of neuronal production in the hippocampus is associated with a range of neurodegenerative conditions, and is particularly evident in ageing dementia.” Professor Bartlett said.
“Surprisingly, however, studies have so far failed to identify a resident stem cell population in the hippocampus that's capable of providing the renewable source of these essential nerve cells.”
Research by Professor Bartlett and his QBI colleague Dr Tara Walker – which features on the front cover of the Journal of Neuroscience on 14 May – has identified the resident stem cell in the hippocampus and, even more importantly, has discovered how it can be activated to produce new neurons.
According to Dr Walker, an understanding of the activation process should enable the development of therapeutics that can stimulate the production of new neurons and reverse or prevent the cognitive decline that occurs during ageing dementia.
“These significant advances in determining the molecular regulation of nerve production will also have a major impact on our understanding of more complex areas such as behaviour, cognition, neurological disease and mental illness,” she said.
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