Adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus

Abstract

Adult neurogenesis is a unique form of structural plasticity in the brain. Localized specifically to the dentate gyrus region, new granule cells continue to integrate into the functioning circuit throughout life. Over the last 2 decades, neurogenesis has gone from a controversial side note within the hippocampal community to a process believed to potentially impact many aspects of learning and memory. Here, we will provide a basic overview of the neurogenesis process, both in terms of its anatomical and physiological development and its tight coupling to physical and cognitive behavior. We will then summarize the current hypotheses explaining how new neurons could affect dentate gyrus and hippocampal function, touching both on theoretical and computational studies. From this perspective, we will review results from behavioral studies in animal knockdowns of neurogenesis and the observations of new neuron behavior during behavioral tasks.