More Brain Research Suggests 'Use It Or Lose It'

[12 February 2008 - ScienceDaily] Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) scientists have found another important clue to why nerve cells die in neurodegenerative diseases, based on studies of the developing brain. Neuroscientists at The University of Queensland have just published findings, which add more weight to the "use it or lose it" model for brain function. QBI's Dr Elizabeth Coulson said a baby's brain generates roughly double the number of nerve cells it needs to function; with those cells that receive both chemical and electrical stimuli surviving, and the remaining cells dying. In research published in the Journal of Neuroscience, Dr Coulson and her colleagues have identified a crucial step in the cell-death process. More