By enabling the rigid brains of adult mice to return to the high levels of plasticity found in juvenile brains, scientists are opening new pathways to the treatment of brain injuries such as stroke. Back in 2013, researchers from Yale University reported the discovery of a molecular switch that achieved this result, and now scientists at the University of California, Irvine, have managed to make an old brain young again using a different approach.
The UC Irvine technique involved transplanting a type of embryonic neuron into the brains of adult mice. After transplantation, these neurons expressed GABA (gamma-Aminobutyric acid), a chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system that aids in motor control, vision and numerous other cortical functions.
via Gizmag
