What foods encourage neurogenesis?
August 12, 2008 2:07 PM Subscribe
What foods encourage neurogenesis?
Foods with lots of Omega-3 fatty acids.
posted by Theloupgarou at 3:31 PM on August 12, 2008
posted by Theloupgarou at 3:31 PM on August 12, 2008
aerobic exercise.
posted by availablelight at 4:05 PM on August 12, 2008
posted by availablelight at 4:05 PM on August 12, 2008
Exercise has been shown in animals to increase post-adolescent neurogenesis*. Omega-3 fatty acids aren't a bad idea (building blocks for growing neurons) - but a balanced and healthy diet is the key foundation; omega-3's should be part of that balanced diet already.
Between exercise and using your brain (travel, see/do new things, work on puzzles, stop vegging out in front of the TV, &c) is probably your best bet. Stroke recovery studies (usually involving lesions in animal models) suggest that even if new neurons aren't being made, the ones that are still there are capable of growing new connections to make up for dead or damaged neurons.
Many many neurons die off during embryonic development and shortly after birth. Making more new neurons from stem cell precursors is one thing. Having existing neurons "do more" is another thing. In either case, extremes are - as typical in almost everything else - usually bad.
The story for motor neurons and spinal cord neurons is a little different. Regeneration/re-growth that can be made to happen usually only happens in response to tropic signals.
If anybody tells you definitively that a particular food encourages neurogenesis, a) they don't know what they're talking about and b) they're lying to you.
*everyone's smell receptor neurons are constantly being generated, die off, and regenerated, ad infinitum - to a degree. Neurogenesis in other parts of the brain is a fairly new finding, but pretty solid. Whether those new neurons integrate and persist and do anything, well, that's another question altogether.
What ends do you want to grow more new neurons for?
posted by porpoise at 5:01 PM on August 12, 2008 [1 favorite]
Between exercise and using your brain (travel, see/do new things, work on puzzles, stop vegging out in front of the TV, &c) is probably your best bet. Stroke recovery studies (usually involving lesions in animal models) suggest that even if new neurons aren't being made, the ones that are still there are capable of growing new connections to make up for dead or damaged neurons.
Many many neurons die off during embryonic development and shortly after birth. Making more new neurons from stem cell precursors is one thing. Having existing neurons "do more" is another thing. In either case, extremes are - as typical in almost everything else - usually bad.
The story for motor neurons and spinal cord neurons is a little different. Regeneration/re-growth that can be made to happen usually only happens in response to tropic signals.
If anybody tells you definitively that a particular food encourages neurogenesis, a) they don't know what they're talking about and b) they're lying to you.
*everyone's smell receptor neurons are constantly being generated, die off, and regenerated, ad infinitum - to a degree. Neurogenesis in other parts of the brain is a fairly new finding, but pretty solid. Whether those new neurons integrate and persist and do anything, well, that's another question altogether.
What ends do you want to grow more new neurons for?
posted by porpoise at 5:01 PM on August 12, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yeah, it's really not the new neurons that do a lot for you. It's the new connections between existing neurons that actually make stuff work, along with neural plasticity to smooth out any major problems you encounter (or any major changes you make). I wouldn't worry too much about specific foods. Your brain is one of your body's highest priorities.
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:58 PM on August 12, 2008
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:58 PM on August 12, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chudmonkey at 3:22 PM on August 12, 2008 [1 favorite]