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Neuron and Brain Maturation 2.0

Int. J. Mol. Sci., 2023 · DOI: 10.3390/ijms242317113 · Published: December 4, 2023

Neurology

Simple Explanation

The mature nervous system is shaped through postnatal and young ages, allowing experiences to impress on brain maturation and to lead to an individualized “vision of the world”, which persists throughout life. Processes of neuronal maturation, namely well-orchestrated sequences of molecular and cellular modification, ranging from stem cell determination to the integration of functional neurons, govern structural plasticity during the prenatal as well as postnatal CNS development Accumulating data substantiate the hypothesis that neuronal maturation in mammals with extended lifespans, such as humans, unfolds over an extended duration.

Study Duration
Not specified
Participants
Not specified
Evidence Level
Not specified

Key Findings

  • 1
    Slowing down neuronal maturation to extend the period of immaturity might have been a useful strategy for accommodating the brain with “young” cells and neotenic features over longer windows of time, even in the absence of active neural stem cells.
  • 2
    Long-living, large-brained mammals seem to have explicitly favored this strategy over the stem cell-based neurogenesis, an element of uttermost importance for the translation of interventions targeting brain plasticity.
  • 3
    Unexpectedly, significant interspecies variations in mammals have recently come to light regarding the coexisting types of postnatal brain structural plasticity [4], foremost in respect to maturation processes.

Research Summary

The mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is built up during embryogenesis by neural stem cells located in the periventricular germinal layers which undergo multiple division cycles. Hence, the mature nervous system will be shaped through postnatal and young ages, allowing experiences to impress on brain maturation and to lead to an individualized “vision of the world”, which persists throughout life [5]. Taken together, all these data spanning different species and ages indicate that slowing down neuronal maturation to extend the period of immaturity might have been a useful strategy for accommodating the brain with “young” cells and neotenic features over longer windows of time, even in the absence of active neural stem cells.

Practical Implications

Understanding Neurological Disorders

Neurological and/or psychiatric disorders emerge when the correct final assembly and maturation of the neural circuits are perturbed.

Therapeutic Strategies

Consistent therapeutic results in humans have only been reached through common rehabilitation techniques targeting the compensatory mechanisms of synaptic plasticity.

Future Research Directions

There is an urgent need for a more comprehensive understanding of neuronal and brain maturation from several angles, from the cellular/molecular scale to the complexity of the whole brain.

Study Limitations

  • 1
    Brain regeneration is currently beyond the bounds of possibility in mammals.
  • 2
    The promiscuity of available markers adds to the complication of understanding brain plasticity and maturation.
  • 3
    Remarkable interspecies differences and their evolutionary implications must be further deciphered.

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