http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0804174727.htm

Adult gut can generate new neurons
August 4th, 2009 The adult lower digestive tract can be stimulated to
add neurons to the intestinal system, according to new mouse research
in the August 5 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience. The study shows
that drugs similar to the neurotransmitter serotonin increase the
production of new neurons in the gut. ..
...For more than 40 years, researchers have known that human bowels
contain high concentrations of serotonin (5-HT), a neurotransmitter
used to regulate intestinal movements.

...The study shows that the 5-HT4 receptor and, by inference, serotonin
play vital roles in the regulation of neurons created in the gut after
birth...





...Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, PhD, at University of California, San
Francisco, an expert in stem-cell neurobiology and developmental
neuroscience who was not affiliated with the study,
"The finding not only suggests that new enteric neurons can be
generated in the adult, but that activation of the serotonin receptor
is required for this process," he said. "The enteric nervous system
has a very large number of neurons, yet we know very little about
their progressive loss during life and whether they can be
regenerated."


More information: http://www.jneurosci.org/


Source: Society for Neuroscience