Take Care of Your Hippocampus

Biological neuron schema (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When I got my MS degree, the prevailing wisdom said we should not be foolish about doing things that damaged brain neurons because they are not replaced. We had all the neurons we were ever going to have in early childhood, and by the time we were 18 or 20 we would begin to lose them by the thousands every day. Some activities cause more loss that is necessary: alcohol, drug use, toxic substances in food or air.  For this reason it makes sense to preserve your brain cells if you can. You will lose lots of them anyway, but don't be careless with them.  

Current research tells us that we can guard against loss by using them. We should be doing things that put a demand on brain cells because the more they are used the less chance they have to atrophy. It's the same message we get for using our muscles: use it or lose it. When we use the transmitters in the cell, it is stimulated to replace it. This keeps the cell active and vital. Doing crossword puzzles is stimulating to the brain cells and replenishes the transmitters in them. 

It also makes new connections. It is the number of connections, not the number of cells that makes you smarter. The message you need to hear about your brain is: keep it active and use it a lot. 

A newer finding on the care and training of you brain says that, contrary to the former information , you really can form new neurons in the brain. This is called neurogenesis. It happens in the hippocampus where new memories are made. The hippocampus is a structure in the Limbic system associated with emotion. The new cells won't replace your old cells that have died. The old cells still die and their information is gone, but the new cells can and must be trained to make new memories and learn new information. The neurogenesis is stimulated by demand on the brain. Learning a new language or doing difficult math problems is a possibility. Reading physics papers and playing music that requires concentrated study might accomplish the goal.

Use your brain. Use it a lot. You will benefit from the effort of learning and you might even grow some new cells. It's up to you!