Neurons in the brain - how long do they live?

Lorenzo Magrassi is a neurosurgeon at the University of Pavia and the author of a study published in 2013 in the journal PNAS. In this work, Magrassi focused on the idea that the lifespan of a neuron depends on the state of the body that contains it. His experiments on mice revealed surprising data.

He implanted neurons from the brain of one mouse into the brain of another. Not only were they not destroyed by the transplant, but they survived to have a lifespan commensurate with their host. They lived another 36 months until the mouse died, in line with its life expectancy.

Dr. Magrassi pointed out that neurons do not have a limited lifespan, but can live forever if they are in a body with ideal conditions for this. In other words, there is no genetic programming that causes neurons to start being destroyed at a certain age. It's our lifestyle and diseases that do it.

Moreover, when a person dies, he or she does so with a large portion of the neurons intact. It is only when the body stops showing vital signs that the neurons gradually begin to die.

As we mentioned earlier, a large number of neurons live as long as you do. They are born and die at the same time as you. Neurogenesis is the ability of some neurons to regenerate. This happens in several areas of the brain. Neuronal regeneration occurs in the hippocampus, an area specialized for memory and learning. But what happens when you get older? Isn't it that certain neurons are destroyed? The truth is that there are nuances.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina explained in a study that Dr. Magrassi has already pointed out. Neuronal death results from neurodegenerative disorders such as dementia, as well as infectious, traumatic, immunological, and inflammatory disorders.

In effect, what a neuron experience is based on aspects you can't always control, such as the development of disease. On the other hand, it is also based on realities that depend on you, such as diet, physical activity, and willingness to learn new things and connect with people.

No less interesting is that science is looking at the goal of extending life expectancy. The goal is to live longer, but in good physical condition, avoiding diseases, ailments, and conditions of greater or lesser severity. The fields of genetic engineering, biotechnology, and medicine are combining to achieve this goal. Therefore, if you manage to live longer while maintaining a healthy and fit body, your brain will remain in the same condition.