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Nature 427, 685-686 (19 February 2004) |

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Neuroscience: Immigration denied

Pasko Rakic1

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The adult human brain cannot replace lost neurons. This might be because it is reluctant to accept newcomers into an already established neural network, rather than because potential progenitors are absent.

Neural stem cells are a focus of strong interest because of the possibility that they could be used to replace neurons that have been damaged or lost — perhaps as a result of injury such as trauma or stroke, or through neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease. These stem cells can give rise to neurons and their supporting cells, glia, and it is hoped that something akin to neural stem cells in the adult human brain could be stimulated to generate replacement neurons.

  1. Pasko Rakic is in the Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
    Email: pasko.rakic@yale.edu

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