Science vs. Science

Researchers have discovered that healthy men and women continue to produce new neurons throughout life, suggesting older people remain more cognitively and emotionally intact than previously believed. For decades it was thought that adult brains were unable to form new cells, but a Columbia University study found older people continued to produce neurons in the hippocampus, a part of the brain important for memory, emotion, and cognition - at a similar rate to young people. However, the researchers also noted fewer blood vessels and connections between cells in the older brains.

The research results come a month after a University of California study suggested adults do not develop new neurons.