The capacity of the adult brain to generate new and functional neurons raises some interesting questions about the mechanisms that guide adult neural stem cells towards a specific neuronal fate. Hack et al. shed light on these mechanisms through studies of the adult olfactory system, in which interneurons are continuously regenerated.The adult olfactory bulb contains two types of interneuron that undergo neurogenesis: granule cell layer interneurons (granule neurons) inside the olfactory bulb, which are exclusively GABA (y-aminobutyric acid)-expressing, and glomerular layer interneurons (so-called periglomerular cells) in the outer regions of the olfactory bulb, which release several neurotransmitters, including dopamine.
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