Catherine Belzung • Peter Wigmore
Editors

2013

Neuroplasticity is a key feature of adult brain function, enabling adaptation to a continuously changing environment. In the past, it was thought that this process was only significant during the developmental period, making the adult brain relatively inflexible. This idea became hard-wired in the scientific culture, as a dogma, despite evidence from 100 years ago showing that some brain cells are able to undergo mitosis. Proof that these proliferating cells become new neurons required more potent cellular imaging techniques such as confocal microscopy together with the ability to identify cells by double immunolabelling.