Aberrantly integrated adult-born immature neurons disrupt brain-wide networks during spatial memory processing
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The hippocampus plays a critical role in memory processing and is a major site of cognitive dysfunction associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders. One striking feature of this brain region is its unique capacity for adult neurogenesis, a process by which new neurons are continuously generated from neural stem cells (NSCs) throughout life in the dentate gyrus (DG) [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Over the past decade, adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) has gained significant attention due to its proposed role as a neural substrate for cognitive function and its pathophysiological relevance to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Extensive evidence from rodent models supports a causal role for adult-born neurons (ABNs) during a critical window of 4–6 weeks of cellular age in specific forms of learning and memory, such as spatial memory, pattern separation, and memory extinction [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Conversely, dysregulated ABNs contribute to cognitive deficits in various brain disorders [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These findings suggest that ABNs with distinct physiological or pathological properties can modulate hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. Supporting this, early studies using slice physiology demonstrate that ABNs directly modulate the activity of various hippocampal cell types, including mature granule cells, hilar interneurons, and CA3 pyramidal cells [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. More recent studies using in vivo electrophysiology provide further evidence that ABNs actively influence the firing dynamics of local hippocampal circuits [ 18 , 19 ]. Despite these advances, a fundamental gap remains: can a small population of time-stamped ABNs with transient and specialized properties (i.e. hyperexcitability and enhanced plasticity) influence brain-wide network dynamics essential for learning and memory, both within and beyond the hippocampus?
Source: Molecular Psychiatry
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,490
Funders: University of Texas at San Antonio, Tata Consultancy Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health, National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Awards: Sex-dependent role of 5HT1A receptors in adult neurogenesis and hippocampal function, Mapping Global Brain Connectivity Mediated by DISC1 Gene in Adult-born Neurons, G2061181029, G4248278944, AVANCE NEO upgrade for the BioSpec 9.4T/30cm MRI system at UNC, 9.4T Small Animal MRI scanner at UNC, G9000008043, G9000097063, Regulation and functional contribution of hypothalamic modified adult hippocampal neurogenesis, SORDINO-fMRI for mouse brain applications, Role of Cholecystokinin in the Dentate Gyrus, Cancer Center Support Grant, Enhancing adult-born neurons to restore brain functions in Alzheimer's disease
OpenAlex ID: W4416548814