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A new study led by scientists at Columbia University shows that older men and women, who are healthy, generate as many new brain cells as young people. To reach this conclusion, the lead author of this study, Dr. Maura Boldrini, scientist, together with his colleagues, analyzed the brains of 28 men, women and children aged between 14 and 79 years, who died for various reasons that did not involve the brain and did not take antidepressants. Their aim was to see if aging affects the production of neurons.
In each sample, the researchers looked for evidence of neurons at various stages of development, including stem cells, intermediate progenitor cells that would eventually become neurons, immature neurons that did not fully develop, and new neurons.
The team only looked at the hypothalamus because it is one of the few areas of the brain that can produce new neurons in adulthood. This region is involved in lifelong learning, memory formation, and emotional processing.
The number of neuronal progenitor cells and immature neurons remained stable at all ages.
However, there are some differences in the brains of young and older people. Specifically, they found that the development of new blood vessels in the brain decreases progressively as people age. This could explain why some older people suffer from memory loss or have lower emotional resilience.
The vascularity decreases with age and that is why we need to find ways to keep our blood vessels healthy. By adopting a healthy lifestyle, with social interactions and exercise, we can maintain our neurons healthy and functional. It is not enough to sit on the couch and do crosswords puzzle but to talk to people about the clues.
If you want to find out about probiotics and prebiotics, check out our article on this topic: What is the difference between probiotics and prebiotics?
[Photo from Pixabay]
