Recently, with an aim to reveal the impact of stimulating neurogenesis in the brain of an adult over his mood or cognition, few scientists participated in a research, that was led by Ren Hen, Ph. D., Professor of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, in the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute. Neurogenesis means the production of neuron in an adult’s brain.

For conducting this study, the scientists boosted a number of neurons in mice hippocampus, which is known to be an area of the brain involved in mood and memory. They then tested the learning and mood-related tasks of the mice and noted the changes in his behavior.

As a result, the researchers succeeded in developing a new way to stimulate neurogenesis in the adult mouse brain. This new strategy might lead to introduction of some drugs that could improve cognition and mood of an adult.

Since few years, scientists were working on this project and till now the studies were dependent on interventions, including exercise and enriched environments. It is believed that in addition to increasing adult hippocampal neurogenesis these interventions might affect numerous other processes in the brain as well.