Can the Brain Grow New Neurons Back?

[SQAAD]

I've heard from Andrew Huberman (a neuroscientist) that when brain cells die off, they n-e-v-e-r come back. This is incredibly glooming, nihilistic and kinda disheartening  . Especially for me because my biggest fears have always revolved around how my brains works.

I've heard about neurogenesis in the past and that it might be possible even for adults. There is much debate around this. Some say it might be possible. Others say it is not possible.

I don't know what is the case.I get the sense at times that even these neuroscients have no clue what really is going on with the brain.

I have seen mma fighters who have received tons of brain damage that function very well still. Usually these are the ones, that have let their brains heal for few months, before fighting again. In general i have observed that the brain can be very resilient and heal itself.

@11:00

 

Edited June 12, 2022 by SQAAD

[Leo Gura]

There is good science that shows that you definitely can grow new neurons.

In fact, I just read an article this week about how mushrooms have been shown to help with neurogenesis.

[Hello from Russia]

Dude, the neurons that die probably don't come back, but It doesn't mean you can't create new ones

[Thought Art]

@Leo Gura I’ve read this too

there are nootropic mushrooms that claim this and I assume magic mushrooms help

[Superfluo]

@Michael569 I'd like to hear your take on this . Don't know if you have already written a post about it here on the forum though.

[The0Self]

3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

There is good science that shows that you definitely can grow new neurons.

In fact, I just read an article this week about how mushrooms have been shown to help with neurogenesis.

New neural connections for sure -- all the time new connections are being made, bolstered, weakened, repurposed, etc. Certainly new microglia and satellite-cell-like structures are produced, as well as structures of already existing neurons. Off the top of my head, actual new brain cells in adulthood can only show up in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus -- so not in the prefrontal cortex. I could be wrong.

[seriousman24]

Probably it's harder for mature brains to restore neurons away from the hippocampus and etc but there's still growth of support cells around neurons.
Maybe deep meditation can restore/produce new neurons further away from the central regions because technically our brain waves can switch to ones that are more prevalent in children, would be interesting to make correlations maybe there's some study about it out there already.

[Michael569]

Yes, this is the reason why certain conditions like multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease cause permanent disabilities because they have not, so far, found an efficient way to get these neurons back online. When you're talking about neuroplasticity it means shaping and reshaping existing connections with the neurons you already have and pulling them into different directions, I believe this has nothing to do with creating new "neuron cells" per se. But I might be wrong on this. As far as I know, only peripheral nervous system injuries are reversible. 

There might be some flexibility through naive satellite cells very early in life but I believe this number is severely limited due to how isolated the brain is and once you have those deployed, that's it. 

There are experimental studies in-vitro where substances like Lion's Mane have been shown to stimulate Nerve Growth Factor or BDNF but this has not been shown to happen in humans, at least I haven't seen anything documented. If anyone knows of any case report, please do share. 

I believe it a news like that came up, Andrew would probably be one of the first to know about it as most of this research is coming from Universities like Standford. There could be anecdotal cases that never get documented tho, that's certainly possible.

I've heard Robert Morse claiming that he was able to cure paraplegics with his protocol but I don't know how reliable those claims are. To this day, I haven't made up my mind on where I stand with the man. Part of me wants to believe him that's for sure  

[undeather]

This is an incredible complex topic which I researched deeply 2-3 years ago.
If I find some free time, I will go into detail with some naunce.

The short answer is: Yes, sometimes and especially in the hippocampus and certain nuclei. Dont confuse "growing neurons" with plasticity. Also, Huberman usually knows his shit but the brain/neuroscience is far from figured out. 
 

Edited June 12, 2022 by undeather

[The0Self]

16 hours ago, undeather said:

This is an incredible complex topic which I researched deeply 2-3 years ago.
If I find some free time, I will go into detail with some naunce.

The short answer is: Yes, sometimes and especially in the hippocampus and certain nuclei. Dont confuse "growing neurons" with plasticity. Also, Huberman usually knows his shit but the brain/neuroscience is far from figured out. 
 

That would be interesting!

Yeah as far as I remember the only place where new neurons grow is the hippocampus and dentate gyrus. Antidepressants as well as meditation, cardiovascular activity, and even living in a bigger house or even a bigger city can be highly associated with hippocampal neurogenesis -- connectivity in the prefrontal cortex is probably more important than hippocampal neurogenesis though, for mindfulness and such.

[mojsterr]

On 12/06/2022 at 11:54 PM, undeather said:

This is an incredible complex topic which I researched deeply 2-3 years ago.
If I find some free time, I will go into detail with some naunce.

Do it

[flowboy]

On 12/06/2022 at 6:52 AM, SQAAD said:

I've heard from Andrew Huberman (a neuroscientist) that when brain cells die off, they n-e-v-e-r come back.

I'd be reluctant to believe that at face value, scientist or not, because when you think about the scientific method and what it can do, it can only prove that certain things work to make other things happen. It can't prove that something can't happen.

Concretely, you can keep a living brain sample and add a mushroom elixir to it, thereby proving that that specific elixir does or does not cause neurons to grow.

I don't think people are having their brain samples taken periodically in a long term study.

Even if there were such studies being done, it could at best prove that it didn't happen in that particular person, in that area, in their lifestyle and circumstances and environmental inputs, not that it can't happen.

 

On another note, why do your fears revolve around your brain?

I remember being worried and obsessed about my hair n-e-v-e-r coming back.

Similar fear. I was 21.

For me personally, it turned out to be grounded in the feeling of not living life to the fullest, lacking so much experience I should be having, and the scary prospect of dying/degenerating having missed the opportunities to fully live. (In this case: fully living meant having all my hair. I've revised that definition since )

Edited June 23, 2022 by flowboy