Postnatal Neurogenesis and Neuronal Regeneration

2004

The discovery of neurogenesis in the adult brain has challenged one of the central dogmas of neuroscience. Pioneer reports in rodents seed the ground for a detailed description in birds and reptiles, which was finally confirmed in discrete regions of several mammalian species including humans. This neurogenetical capability may serve as the basis for neuronal regeneration, as has already been described in the reptilian brain, and thus may represent a promising therapeutic approach. Consequently, in the last years there has been an important effort to deepen our knowledge of the biology, the functional significance and the regulation of adult neurogenesis.