Adult neurogenesis, the lifelong generation of new neurons in privileged regions of the adult brain has turned out to be an important aspect of how the brain maintains structural plasticity. Adult neurogenesis improves function in the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb and in turn is regulated by behavior. Underlying these effects of behavior, neurogenesis is regulated by an intriguingly complex hierarchy of events at numerous levels, from the systems level over long and short-range signaling molecules and cell-to-cell contact to genetic and epigenetic changes.

This conference (the third in the series - 2007 in Dresden and 2010 in Frauenchiemsee), will attempt to capture the regulatory complexity and link it to the proposed functionality of the adult-generated neurons. The conference is open to everyone from researchers to clinicians who are seeking to learn about the impact of adult neurogenesis on their fields of medicine and will provide an excellent opportunity for younger researchers to present their work to an international audience and facilitiate discussion with the experts.