Kandasamy Mahesh
Department of Animal Science, School of Life Sciences, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli 620024, Tamil Nadu, India.
University Grants Commission-Faculty Recharge Programme (UGC-FRP), New Delhi 110002, India.
J Biol Methods. 2025 May 2;12(3):e99010061. doi: 10.14440/jbm.2024.0133. eCollection 2025.
Adult neurogenesis is a regenerative mechanism of the brain that contributes to neuroplasticity and memory consolidation. Aberrant neurogenesis is considered a key pathogenic hallmark of a wide array of neurocognitive disorders. While the functional significance of adult neurogenesis is well established in most experimental and wild animals, its occurrence in the aging human brain remains uncertain.
Most studies on adult neurogenesis in humans rely on post-mortem analysis, as there is currently no method to accurately evaluate the neurogenic process in the intact brain. Theta rhythm, a neural oscillatory pattern, is believed to originate from hippocampal place cells that play a crucial role in creating cognitive maps. Theta rhythm is positively modulated by various factors, such as physical activities and enriched environment, which also promote adult neurogenesis. The strength and stability of theta rhythm are closely linked to mental well-being and cognitive functions, while its disruptions serve as indicators of neuropathogenic events that directly intersect with the regulation of adult neurogenesis.
Modulation of the theta rhythm may reciprocally reflect the degree of neurogenesis in the adult brain, as newborn neurons can directly integrate with place cells, especially in the hippocampus. Given their electrophysical properties, newborn neurons may hold an intrinsic potential to generate theta rhythm upon motor sensory inputs and different neural activities. Biomedical tools such as electroencephalography, which measures theta rhythm, could thus be utilized to non-invasively monitor ongoing neurogenic processes in intact brains. Consequently, theta rhythm may function as a potential real-time, quantitative marker of adult neurogenesis.
成体神经发生是大脑的一种再生机制，有助于神经可塑性和记忆巩固。异常神经发生被认为是多种神经认知障碍的关键致病标志。虽然成体神经发生的功能意义在大多数实验动物和野生动物中已得到充分证实，但其在衰老的人类大脑中的发生情况仍不确定。
目前尚无方法准确评估完整大脑中的神经发生过程，因此大多数关于人类成体神经发生的研究依赖于死后分析。θ节律是一种神经振荡模式，被认为起源于海马位置细胞，这些细胞在创建认知地图中起着关键作用。θ节律受到各种因素的正向调节，如体育活动和丰富的环境，这些因素也促进成体神经发生。θ节律的强度和稳定性与心理健康和认知功能密切相关，而其破坏则作为与成体神经发生调节直接相关的神经致病事件的指标。
θ节律的调节可能相互反映成体大脑中神经发生的程度，因为新生神经元可以直接与位置细胞整合，尤其是在海马体中。鉴于其电生理特性，新生神经元在运动感觉输入和不同神经活动时可能具有产生θ节律的内在潜力。因此，诸如测量θ节律的脑电图等生物医学工具可用于非侵入性监测完整大脑中正在进行的神经发生过程。因此，θ节律可能作为成体神经发生的潜在实时定量标志物发挥作用。
