Computational models of adult neurogenesis

Experimental results in recent years have shown that adult neurogenesis is a significant phenomenon in the mammalian brain. Little is known, however, about the functional role played by the generation and destruction of neurons in the context of an adult brain. Here, we propose two models where new projection neurons are incorporated. We show that in both models, using incorporation and removal of neurons as a computational tool, it is possible to achieve a higher computational efficiency that in purely static, synapse-learning-driven networks. We also discuss the implication for understanding the role of adult neurogenesis in specific brain areas like the olfactory bulb and the dentate gyrus. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.