From Stem Cells to Grandmother Cells: How Neurogenesis Relates to Learning and Memory

SummaryNeurogenesis contributes thousands of new neurons each day to the hippocampus of the adult brain. Their production is influenced by numerous internal and external environmental factors, but their survival is especially sensitive to processes of learning. This commentary considers how learning enhances the survival of neural stem/progenitor cell progeny and what these new neurons might do once they are rescued from death.