Brain cell growth diminishes long before old age strikes, animal s...(tween 18 months and 7 years of age. The ...)

"This news isn't entirely negative, though it seems to be at first glance," Gould said. "The silver lining here is that neurogenesis continues long past puberty and does not stop entirely, even in older primates. What's more, it can be stimulated with experience."

For rodents, some of the ways adult neurogenesis can be stimulated are well known: allowing rats to socialize and exercise encourages their neural growth. Researchers believe these methods will work also in primates. One reason why other scientists will find this new study useful, Gould said, is because the discovery adds to the list of changes that have been noted in the brains of both primates and rodents -- the latter of which are the most commonly used creatures in neuroscience experiments.

"This means we can be confident that what we discover about the rodent brain can be applied to primates," she said. "We'd like to do more studies to see if we can find out first what maintains the higher level of neurogenesis in young animals, and then how we can keep it going at that level as the brain ages."

Though Gould cautioned that it would be premature to draw too many hard and fast conclusions about the human brain as a result of the findings, she said the study suggests that methods of maintaining the mind's flexibility do exist.

"Someday we hope this kind of research will help us discover what keeps brain cells growing, so we can both keep our minds vibrant and help people with neurodegenerative illnesses," Gould said. "In the meantime, it's safe to say that staying physically active and providing new experiences for your mind will not hurt. The brain doesn't have to stop growing. It's not over till the last neuron dies."

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