IUBio

Theoretical lifespan of the human brain?

James Woodson jwoodson at ucla.edu
Mon Apr 21 12:11:04 EST 1997


reiprich at uni-duesseldorf.de wrote:

>Would not be PC to test this idea therefore nobody should be able to
>confirm your idea.
>But I think that the high metabolism rate of the brain and it's
>impossibility to repair damaged neurons (in contrast to many other
>tissues) would argue against this hypothesis!

There is some recent evidence that some neurons do regenerate, specifically
some of the cholinergic neurons in the cortex.  This was rat work, so
whether or not it applys to humans is arguable, but humans rarely seek
medical attention for anything less than gross damage to the brain; a
different story.

James C. Woodson* - Behavioral Neuroscience
U.C.L.A. Dept. of Psychology, Franz Hall
405 Hilgard Ave.
Los Angeles, CA  90095

* Research in mechanisms and loci of sexual differentiation of the brain,
motivated responding, developmental interactions between nerve growth
factors and endogenous gonadal steroids, evolutionary psychology, & learned
helplessness.  All opinions expressed are mine alone, and do not reflect
those of the University of California, Los Angeles.

P.S. You may be able to find out more about me by visiting my web site, at
http://164.67.14.19 





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