London - Scientists in the US have discovered that adult monkeys continually produce new cells in the area of their brains responsible for memory and intelligence, it emerged yesterday. It has long been assumed that humans and other higher primates are stuck with one set of brain cells - which can neither be repaired nor replenished - after early childhood.
But a report published in the US journal Science reveals that adult macaque monkeys continue to produce a small but steady trickle of new brain cells, or neurons, in areas of the brain responsible for higher functions such as perception and cognition.
