As adults , some parts of our brains form new cells in a process known as neurogenesis , while others do not . There are also many parts of the brain that remain unexplored in this regard . Now the amygdaloid nucleus , the part of the nous that control fear and emotional computer storage , has been tot to the list of places where grownup neurogenesis occurs . Hopefully , the discovery will go to better treatments for post - traumatic stress disorderliness ( PTSD ) and crippling phobia .
grown neurogenesis has been a contentious topic for a long time . scientist who claimed to have found evidence of it were once rib , but stem cells that take shape new cells even as we age have now beenconfirmedin the genus Hippocampus – the part of the brain responsible for much of our store processing . Professor Perry Bartlett of the Queensland Brain Institute , who top the hippocampus uncovering , has co - authored a report inMolecular Psychiatryshowing that something similar takes position in the amygdala .
First authorDr Dhanisha Jhaveritold IFLScience that several techniques were used to confirm adult neurogenesis in the amygdala of black eye . “ We looked for the presence of bow prison cell , which we did indeed find , although in diminished numeral . We also have techniques to find analogue that only get incorporated into dividing prison cell . "
These not only revealed the presence of newfangled cells , but demonstrated their changeover to working neuron . Jhaveri also inject black eye with a retrovirus that only taint cells in the operation of dividing to form new cells . She found that six to eight weeks later parts of the mouse amygdala were infected .
Although this research has n’t been done in humans , Jhaveri indicate out that when other area of the mouse brain were shown to support adult neurogenesis , the result was then hear in humans too .
Presumably , there are evolutionary reasons why some parts of the brainpower can bear grownup neurogenesis and others ca n’t , but Jhaveri said these stay a mystery story . She did note , however , that there are solid connections between the hippocampus and amygdala , with both playing a role in excited learning and processing on a casual fundament . Consequently , it ’s not surprising that the two region apportion this feature . Yet even within the amygdala , only some section were found to support shank cells .
The team depict that the amygdala stem jail cell could be shake up to proliferate . Jhaveri speculates that the production of new cells in those regions that inhibit , rather than promote , fear reaction could damp down the amygdala overactivity that is a known feature of PTSD . However , she recognise the process required could also sprain out to be much more complex .
“ We ’ve open up the threshold to completely unchartered territory , ” Jhaveri told IFLScience . “ It ’s only go to get more exciting from now on . ”
