Neurogenesis in the adult human hippocampus.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Postmortem human tissue analysis (case series)
PubMed 9809557 · doi:10.1038/3305
What was done
Postmortem human brain tissue was obtained from adult patients previously treated with the thymidine analog bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), which incorporates into DNA during S phase. Researchers used immunofluorescent labeling to detect BrdU co-localization with neuronal markers (NeuN, calbindin, or neuron-specific enolase [NSE]) in brain regions homologous to neurogenic zones in rodents and monkeys.
What was found
BrdU-labeled dividing progenitor cells co-expressed neuronal markers (NeuN, calbindin, or NSE) in the dentate gyrus of adult human brains. The abstract does not report specific quantitative cell counts, proportions, or numbers of patients.
Why it matters
This study provides evidence that neurogenesis occurs in the adult human hippocampus, indicating that the human brain retains the capacity to generate neurons throughout life.
Limits
The abstract does not provide the sample size (n), patient clinical backgrounds, or quantitative rates of cell division. As a postmortem histological analysis, it cannot directly measure the functional integration or long-term survival of newly formed neurons.
Cited by
- partial Postmortem studies from the Salk Institute on cancer patients who were administered a tracer dye showed the addition of new neurons in human brains even in people in their 80s and 90s.