You -Can- Grow New Brain Cells, It Turns Out. Still No Fix For Stupid, Though.

To grow new brain-cells Churchill would paint, Einstein played the violin; Stalin had his nude ballet.

-On a personal note, I’ll go with the ElectroShock therapy and a 5g Gotu Kola chaser.

And with that as a prelude, we find ourselves confronted with something even more impressive than a nude, tapdancing totalitarian.

It’s not a joke. You really can grow new brain-cells

A group of genius intrepid researchers consisting of Elizabeth Gould (who is kind of sexy for a geek) and others have miraculously found that lab animals can actually grow new neurons!

Well after the time that it was said to be impossible, which according to Science has always seemed VERY early in life, like Age 15.

-So, there’s hope for all of us.

The researchers found that all previous neurogenesis experiments had placed their subjects in static environments,

And that gave their brains No Reason to grow new brain cells.

 
Specifically, it is exciting that growth can take place in Both the Neocortex And the Hippocampus.

The key seems to be new and challenging environments, learning new skills, and play.

-Either that or if you’re really aggressive/crazy: Antidepressants and Alzheimer’s medications can probably make you grow new neurons, too.


Photo Credits: “buddha2”, by moonfire


Links:
• Source: Princeton – Cortex Neurogenesis
• More Coverage: Brynmawr – Neurogenesis | Antidepressant Neurogenesis | NYT | Kathy Sierra – Cubicle Sprawl → Human Lab Rats
• Source Study: ScienceMag-Neurogenesis in the Neocortex of Adult Primates