New regulators in adult neurogenesis and their potential role for repair

Adult neural stem cells hold great promise for repair because of their unique location within the central nervous system, their potential to proliferate and to differentiate into all major neural lineages, and their ability to incorporate functionally into the existing neuronal circuitry. However, recruitment of these cells for repair is hampered by the lack of knowledge about the signals that control the generation of a functional neuron from adult neural stem cells. Here, we discuss recent findings on the regulatory mechanisms that underlie neurogenesis from neural stem cells in the adult hippocampus and the implications of these findings for future stem-cell-based repair strategies.