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by Jimmy Ray on December 19th, 2004

Jimmy Ray

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Do brain cells regenerate?

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  • by BoundSyco on May 20th, 2005

    BoundSyco

    First and foremost, we need to clarify what exactly is being asked. What exactly is being referred to by "brain cells"? There are many types of brain cells, that perform various tasks. Glilia cells, for example, are support cells for the neurons in our brain, and make up a majority of its mass. Glilia cells do in fact regenerate and, because they are technically part of the brain, would be enough to say that brain cells do regenerate.

    However, that is not the intention of the question. What is really being asked is, Do neurons in the brain regenerate? The person asking the questions wants to know if the cells that are linked to thinking and consciousness regenerate. The answer to this question is in fact yes. For a very long time it was thought that neurons did not regenerate, however, recent studies have shown that they do. Different types of neurons regenerate in varying capacities, but those in the hippocampus were among the first to be discovered regenerating in the human brain. (Various primates have been shown to regenerate and add neurons throughout the brain).

    http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/99/0405/brain.htm


    Another thing to note is that neurons are being generated until the age of three years old. At this age, your brain will have the most neurons it will ever have. After age three, neurons do grow, but not as fast as they die.

    Comments

    • all true, but the spelling you are after is "glial", not "glilia".

      lynnenorth

      by lynnenorth on December 30th, 2005

    • Very interesting article. Progress on artificial limbs, livers, eyes and human – machine interfaces is moving forward. Translating new technologies into real physical immortality will take time, and it is doubtful to happen within the next 10-20 years. It is important to record and store as much actual and important information about yourself, in anticipation of the day when you or your descendents can employ life-extending technologies, and perhaps return / regenerate your stored DNA, your body cells, and your archived imaging data and video logs (see totalrecallbook . com ) into some semblance of a functioning you. Storing stem cells and DNA is a start, and a few visionary companies like ContinueMe . com are looking at just such an over encompassing approach.

      Dimitri_N

      by Dimitri_N on March 12th, 2011

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