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> October
> October 22, 1999:
Hour One: Brain Update
| Last week, scientists at Princeton University made an announcement that goes counter to long-held wisdom about the brain. They discovered that new neurons are continually being added to the brains of adult monkeys, even to parts of the brain responsible for very high-level functioning. |  | Once, it was believed that no new brain cells were created after adulthood. Later, it was found that some parts of the brain such as the hippocampus, could regrow cells. The work, reported in the October 15th issue of Science, means that neurogenisis may be much more common than previously thought. We'll talk about what the research might mean for learning, memory, and the treatment of neurological diseases.
Other researchers have been trying to regrow brain cells in another way - by using generic "neural stem cells" that the body can develop into many different types of neural tissue We'll find out about efforts to clone theses neural stem cells, and how cells like these might be used in disease treatment.
We'll also find out about a discovery announced this week by researchers at Amgen (Full disclosure: Amgen is one of Science Friday's funders on NPR.) The researchers, writing in this week's edition of the journal Science, report that they have located an enzyme that they believe is involved in the formation of "plaque" in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. While the existence of the enzyme has been assumed for a long time, it had never been actually isolated before. Might the discovery be of use someday for treating Alzheimer's? We'll find out.
Guests:
Martin Citron
Research Scientist
Amgen
Thousand Oaks, California
Charles Gross
Professor, Psychology
Princeton Center for the Study of Mind, Brain, and Behavior
Princeton University
Princeton, New Jersey
Evan Snyder
Assistant Professor, Neurology
Children's Hospital
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Books/Articles Discussed:
| "Beta-Secretase Cleavage of Alzheimer's Amyloid Protein by the Transmembrane Aspartic Protease BACE" by Martin Citron et al. Science, 22 October 1999.
"Neurogenisis in the Neocortex of Adult Primates" by E. Gould, A.J. Reeves, M.S.A Graziano, and C. G. Gross." Science, 15 October 1999. | | Related Links:
Princeton - News - Scientists Discover Addition of New Brain Cells in Highest Brain Area
American Academy of Neurology
BrainWeb: Simulated Brain Database
The Whole Brain Atlas
Neuroscience for Kids
Amgen Home Page
Princeton - PWB 040599 - Do brain cells regenerate?
Dana Foundation UPDATE 1999: New Connections
Nerve Cell Clones Repair Brain Damage
Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR Center)
Welcome to the Alzheimer's Association
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- This segment produced by:
Karin Vergoth
Web producer:
Charles Bergquist
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