Regulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis exerted by sexual, cognitive and physical activity: An update.

ABSTRACT

In 1962, Joseph Altman described that the brain generates neurons after the postnatal period, and this continues throughout your life (Altman, 1962). This was a breakthrough in the neuroscience field because before this the accepted paradigm was that the brain only generated neurons during the embryonal development. This discovery has been controversial ever since, especially since one of the areas of the brain with neurogenic properties is the hippocampus, which is the area involved in memory storage and neurodegenerative processes. The adult hippocampal neurogenesis modulates in response to different environmental factors. In this article, we review how exercise and cognitive and sexual activity can regulate the generation of new neurons in the hippocampal in an adult brain and the impact of these new neurons in the brain circuitry.