Biology of Aging and Neurogenesis

Most body systems experience gradual changes as we age. Understanding the cellular and molecular processes behind these changes, as well as those that accompany the beginning of age-related disorders, is the focus of ageing biology research. Experiments can be devised to better understand when and how pathological alterations begin as scientists learn more about these processes, providing vital hints toward creating therapies to prevent or treat disease.

Adult neurogenesis, or the generation of functional neurons from adult neural progenitors, occurs in limited brain regions throughout life in animals. Over the last decade, great progress has been made in answering questions about practically every element of adult neurogenesis in the mammalian brain.

• The Neuroendocrine Theory
• The Free Radical Theory
• The Membrane Theory of Aging
• The Decline Theory
• The Cross-Linking Theory
• Developmental neurogenesis
• Adult neurogenesis