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.