title: Dynamics of hippocampal neurogenesis in adult humans.
abstract: Adult-born hippocampal neurons are important for cognitive plasticity in rodents. There is evidence for hippocampal neurogenesis in adult humans, although whether its extent is sufficient to have functional significance has been questioned. We have assessed the generation of hippocampal cells in humans by measuring the concentration of nuclear-bomb-test-derived ¹⁴C in genomic DNA, and we present an integrated model of the cell turnover dynamics. We found that a large subpopulation of hippocampal neurons constituting one-third of the neurons is subject to exchange. In adult humans, 700 new neurons are added in each hippocampus per day, corresponding to an annual turnover of 1.75% of the neurons within the renewing fraction, with a modest decline during aging. We conclude that neurons are generated throughout adulthood and that the rates are comparable in middle-aged humans and mice, suggesting that adult hippocampal neurogenesis may contribute to human brain function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kirsty L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Spalding
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bergmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.|Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Kanar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Alkass
authors.affiliation: Institut Camille Jordan, CNRS UMR 5208, University of Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bernard
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ion Physics, Uppsala University, SE-751 20, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mehran
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salehpour
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.|Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Hagen B
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Huttner
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boström
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Westerlund
authors.affiliation: Institut Camille Jordan, CNRS UMR 5208, University of Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Celine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vial
authors.affiliation: Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave., L-397, Livermore, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Buchholz
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ion Physics, Uppsala University, SE-751 20, Sweden.
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Possnert
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
authors.forename: Deborah C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Mash
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Druid
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frisén
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological; D055495:Neurogenesis; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D055110:Radiometric Dating / Q000379:methods