Comments on: Adult Neurogenesis Reading

By: Anna

Anna — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:18:15 +0000

Oh. I thought damaged nerves couldn’t be fixed. Oops.

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: Thomas Carlson

Thomas Carlson — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:18:16 +0000

Well, this was certainly an enlightening read. For the longest time I believed that neurons were simply irreplaceable, as the article mentioned, but it seems science has blown that misconception out of the water so to speak. This new discovery could very well advance treatments and cures for ailments concerning the brain and head traumas as the article and previous classmates mentioned. Additionally, I find it amazing that, once again, stress and exercise are factors involved in another process performed in the body.

Summary: Hope for new treatments due to neurogenesis.

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: docfleetwood

docfleetwood — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:52:41 +0000

I think you can count on companies trying to monetize this. And people will buy, buy, buy – just like weight loss pills – trying to do it the ‘easy way’. And your summary breaks the rules a little with 8 words and a symbol.

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: docfleetwood

docfleetwood — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:41:45 +0000

We ‘hold’ new information by making new connections between neurons we already have. These neurons can grow new parts (dendrites and axon terminals) and can connect to thousands of other neurons if necessary. Furthermore, disuse will breakdown these connections and you will lose that memory/ability. But this is what we will be learning about in class so you won’t be “missing alot of information.”

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: docfleetwood

docfleetwood — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:38:10 +0000

Wow, what an interesting thought regarding the coma patients

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: Amanda Brockson

Amanda Brockson — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:45:13 +0000

I was suprised to find that neurogenesis occurs, and I was also very suprised to read what Dr. Fleetwood wrote about elderly dementia being reversible with exercise (of body and mind). The article was interesting to read, especially the part about exercise contributing to neurogenesis. The fact that scientists can conduct experiments like the ones described in the article is amazing to me. It’s exciting that their findings can potentially help treat so many different conditions.
Summary: Neurogenesis possible, linked to learning and exercise.

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: Anna Sung

Anna Sung — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:31:48 +0000

This is interesting as I have always thought neurons could not be produced and once gone, there would be no replacements. So how many of those cells produced actually survive as the article says “more [neurons] die than survive.” And is the solution for preventing these deaths (by helping the neurons connect with other neurons) learning and exercise? That’s like training your muscles — the more you work out/learn, the stronger it becomes. Or is it because the adult brain, like any other adult body part, weakens with age (leading to weaker connections between neurons)?

It’s great to know that there’s hope for finding a treatment to all the brain-related diseases, disorders, damages, etc; however, as cynical as this may seem, it might be possible that once neurogenesis is further explored, companies might try to sell to consumers a new way to make humans smarter — using neurogenesis and increasing the amount of neurons in a brain (whether it is through pills or surgery, etc.).

Summary: Neurogenesis: Generating neurons retained by learning/exercising = hope.

Like or Dislike: 1 0

By: Aaron Bevenour

Aaron Bevenour — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:43:03 +0000

Well, I didn’t know alot about cells and regeneration and creation before, but the creation of new neurons and other cells just makes sense to me. I am probably missing alot of information but how would a person keep retaining more and more information without the creation of new cells to help hold that information? What I did find interesting was that any random study can result in the discovery of something that you might not even be looking for.
SUMMARY: birds prove neurogenesis exists with neural activity.

Like or Dislike: 0 0

By: Logan Coale

Logan Coale — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:04:53 +0000

I was surprised to learn that research on songbirds learning new songs led to this monumental discovery. This article further proves the fact that science is always changing and things we believed were false can actually be the truth. It makes sense that exercise and learning promotes neurogenesis because those things were known to help strengthen our mind in the past. I was wondering if neurogenesis could be responsible for why some people who have suffered traumatic brain injury can miraculously come out of comas years later.

summary: nuerogenesis possible in hippocampus with support, exercise

Like or Dislike: 1 0

By: docfleetwood

docfleetwood — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 03:58:50 +0000

A few things we need to be careful of here…

1. Neurogenesis is not the same thing as neural regeneration. We have known for quite some time that a damaged nerve can regenerate and work again. What we did not know was that the brain produced NEW neurons (neurogenesis). Several of you are using the terms interchangeably, and they are not.

2. We currently only know of a few places where neurogenesis happens, so we can’t assume it happens everywhere in the brain. Although, if it does, then Anna is right, brain damage might be ‘easier’ to fix than we originally thought.

3. A lot of ‘nerds’ actually do exercise – both their brain and their body. As Anna said, the opposing thought is just being stereotypical.

Like or Dislike: 0 0