Revealing age-related changes of adult hippocampal neurogenesis using mathematical models.

ABSTRACT: New neurons are continuously generated in the dentate gyrus of the adult hippocampus. This continuous supply of newborn neurons is important to modulate cognitive functions. Yet the number of newborn neurons declines with age. Increasing Wnt activity upon loss of dickkopf 1 can counteract both the decline of newborn neurons and the age-related cognitive decline. However, the precise cellular changes underlying the age-related decline or its rescue are fundamentally not understood. The present study combines a mathematical model and experimental data to address features controlling neural stem cell (NSC) dynamics. We show that available experimental data fit a model in which quiescent NSCs may either become activated to divide or may undergo depletion events, such as astrocytic transformati

SUBMITTER: Ziebell F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5825879 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature