Stimulating formation of new neural connections in the adult brain

A team found a way to stimulate formation of new neural connections in the adult brain in a study that could eventually help humans fend off memory loss, brain trauma and other ailments in the central nervous system. They were able to stimulate growth of new neural connections in mice that are needed to connect the cells into neural circuits.

This is a study into factors that prevent adult neurons from making new connections. Regulation of this process is important to prevent several disorders, such as autism, but is also related to the inability of the adult nervous system to readily recover from damage.

Researchers studied a cell population that has the unusual ability to make new connections into adulthood, but under normal conditions does not grow the needed axons or dendrites. The team was able to genetically manipulate the cell population in the mice to induce axon and dendrite outgrowth. They found this induced the formation of stable, functional connections with new cells.

The idea is that one could stimulate the nervous system to make new connections if there was some kind of trauma. Maybe this is the way to reactivate the cell to build those new connections that we can take advantage of clinically.

In children in early development it's very easy to make new connections, but adults lose that ability, and we want to see why that is.

The genetic manipulation used in mice as part of the study wouldn't work in humans. Instead, this team would next like to test small-molecule drugs that regulate these central nervous system processes -- currently used to combat cancer in humans -- to see if they can help the nervous system make new connections in mice.

Source: sciencedaily