Neuropoeisis is the process by which neural stem cells differentiate and grow into various types of adult neuronal cells.

Until the 1960s it was assumed that adult humans could not grow new nerve cells - this viewpoint is now proved to be untrue.

The ability to grow (or re-grow) neurons has profound implications for the development of new treatments for neurological degenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer's diseaseplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigAlzheimer's disease

"Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic progressive neuro-degenerative disorder characterised by three primary groups of symptoms. The first group (cognitive dysfunction) includes memory loss, language difficulties, and executive dysfunction (that is, loss of higher level planning and intellectual coordination skills). The second group comprises psychiatric symptoms and behavioural disturbances — for example, depression, hallucinations, delusions, agitation — collectively termed …, Motor Neurone diseaseplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigMotor Neurone disease

Motor Neurone disease, also known as Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rare, progressive, neurological condition that involves degeneration of the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. , Multiple sclerosisplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigMultiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a severe persistent condition of the central nervous system in which the coating around nerve fibres (myelin) is damaged, causing a wide range of distressing symptoms varying in severity.

At any given time, it affects around 3 million people worldwide. etc. ). Unfortunately, the bio-chemical mechanisms which control the differentiation are currently unknown.

See: Wikipedia