They do not divide at all. There are very few exceptions to this rule — only two special places in the brain can give birth to new neurons. For the most part though, the brain cannot replenish dead neurons. This is especially worrisome because neurons are very sensitive cells and they die for all sorts of reasons.
When you bump your head and suffer a concussion , neurons die. When there is a glitch in the blood supply to the brain, also called a stroke , neurons die. Here is the good news. Because loss of neurons is usually permanent, scientists are working on two important strategies to help the brain after injury.
One way is to protect the nervous system immediately after the damage occurs. This damage could be a stroke, a severe concussion, or any kind of injury. If we can somehow limit the number of neurons that die early after injury, then we are keeping the damage to a minimum.
To help with repair later on after the injury, after the damage is done, some scientists are trying to use stem cells as a treatment for neuronal loss in the brain. They have the capacity to develop into brand new neurons if scientists treat them with special molecules. This is a little like elementary school students who are not doctors or plumbers yet, but they have the capacity to become any professional in the future, given the right training.
The biggest challenge with replacing dead neurons with stem cells is to have these newcomer neurons integrate, or fit into, the existing brain networks the right way.
Looking at the structure of a neuron, you will notice it has a cell body and several arms that it uses to connect and talk with other neurons Figure 1 , left. The really long arm that sends signals to other neurons is called axon , and axons can be really long. If an axon is damaged along its way to another cell, the damaged part of the axon will die Figure 1 , right , while the neuron itself may survive with a stump for an arm.
The problem is neurons in the central nervous system have a hard time regrowing axons from stumps. Why do skin cells not have this problem? Skin cells are much simpler in structure. First, they need motivation. There are special molecules that help activate growth in neurons. Fibers grow through and beyond lesions and reform synaptic connections with their targets. Similarly, anesthetized neonatal pups attached to the mother recover the ability to walk after complete spinal cord transection.
This is the stage at which glial cells in the CNS develop. In Short. The smartest part of our brain. Biology Medicine. Repairing Brains to treat Parkinson's Disease. Science News. Nerve transplants wire themselves into host brains. Thank you. Your name. Leave this field blank. Support Us!
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