Adult neurogenesis is the creation of new neurons which integrate into the existing neural circuit of the adult brain. Recent evidence suggests that adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) persists throughout life in mammals, including humans. These newborn neurons have been implicated to have a crucial role in brain functions such as learning and memory. Importantly, studies have also found that hippocampal neurogenesis is impaired in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia affecting millions of people. Cognitive dysfunction is a common symptom of AD patients and progressive memory loss has been attributed to the degeneration of the hippocampus. Therefore, there has been growing interest in identifying how hippocampal neurogenesis is affected in AD. However, the link between cognitive decline and changes in hippocampal neurogenesis in AD is poorly understood. In this review, we summarized the recent literature on AHN and its impairments in AD.
成年神经发生是指在成年个体脑内产生新的神经元，新生神经元可整合到大脑已有的神经环路。最近的证据表明：成年海马神经发生（adult hippocampal neurogenesis，AHN）在哺乳动物（包括人类）一生中持续存在。新生神经元在学习记忆等脑功能中起着至关重要的作用，研究发现海马神经发生在神经退行性疾病和神经精神疾病中受损。阿尔茨海默氏病（Alzheimer’s disease，AD）是最常见的痴呆症之一，影响数百万人群。AD患者的主要症状是认知功能出现障碍，而海马退化是导致AD患者进行性记忆丧失的主要原因，因此，海马神经发生在AD患者脑内有什么变化、如何受损，引起越来越多的关注。然而，对于认知功能下降和海马神经发生受损之间的联系，目前知之甚少。该文总结了近期AHN研究进展及AHN在AD中受损的文献报道。.
Keywords: Adult hippocampal neurogenesis; Alzheimer’s disease; Alzheimer’s disease animal models; Cognitive function; Hippocampal function.