Why new neurons? Possible functions for adult hippocampal neurogenesis
Open accessAbstract
The dentate gyrus of the adult hippocampal formation generates neurons throughout life. To date, it remains unclear why. What are the new neurons used for? How can an existing functional neural network integrate and even actively recruit new neurons? The prevailing theories of cognition are based on
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Adult-born neurons seem to be a biological prerequisite for normal function of the hippocampus, particularly thought to mediate learning and memory formation.
“While adult-born neurons seem to pose a biological prerequisite for normal function of the hippocampus, in particular thought to mediate learning and memory formation, the distinctive purpose of neurogenesis remains open (Eriksson et al., 1998;Kempermann, 2002).”
From Serotonin and neuroplasticity – Links between molecular, functional and structural pathophysiology in depression (2017) · cites this paper as Kempermann, 2002
Kempermann links adult-born neurons to hippocampal function and reports a correlation between neurogenesis and performance on a hippocampal learning task (pp. 635–637). But the paper explicitly says this does not prove causality and that the available findings cannot establish that new neurons are necessary for hippocampal function (p. 637). Calling them a biological prerequisite for normal function overstates the source. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Kempermann, G.
- Affiliations
- Max Delbrück Center (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Kempermann, Gerd
- ORCID
- Kempermann, Gerd
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2002-02-01
- Volume
- 22
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 635-638
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6758494
- OpenAlex
- W2103081123
- Cited by
- 469
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 22 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 22 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 30
- FWCI
- 7.38
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- MDC Repository (Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- adult hippocampal neurogenesis, dentate gyrus, hippocampal formation, neural network integration, cognitive function, neuroplasticity
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Cell Division, Hippocampus, Humans, Memory, Nerve Net, Neurons
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