Can adult brains really grow new neurons?

The answer

In 2025, researchers finally settled one of neuroscience's longest-running debates by discovering newly formed neurons and their precursor cells in adult human brains, including in individuals as old as 78. The study, published in major neuroscience journals, found that so-called 'super-agers' - older adults who maintain sharp cognitive abilities - produce roughly twice as many new neurons as typical older adults. This process, called adult neurogenesis, occurs primarily in the hippocampus, the brain's memory center. The finding overturns decades of dogma that the adult brain cannot regenerate neurons, and suggests that maintaining neurogenesis through exercise, learning, and social engagement may be key to preserving cognitive function into old age.