Dr. Helen Scharfman Contributes to Neurogenesis Research

Dr. Helen Scharfman coauthored a new Science paper (Luna et al.) examining the role of adult neurogenesis in hippocampal brain circuitry.

The authors found that adult-born neurons either inhibited or excited the dentate gyrus, depending on whether synaptic inputs originated from the lateral or the medial entorhinal cortex. The action of adult-born neurons depended on the demands of the environment, which alters cortical and subcortical input to the dentate gyrus.

A Perspective article in the same issue provides additional context for the Luna et al. paper.

Link to main article:

Luna VM, Anacker C, Burghardt NS, Khandaker H, Andreu V, Millette A, Leary P, Ravenelle R, Jimenez JC, Mastrodonato A, Denny CA, Fenton AA, Scharfman HE, Hen R. Adult-born hippocampal neurons bidirectionally modulate entorhinal inputs into the dentate gyrus. Science. 2019 May 10;364(6440):578-583.

Link to commentary:

Llorens-Martín M. Adult-born neurons in brain circuitry. Science. 2019 May 10;364(6440):530.