You may not be able to relive your youth, but part of your brain can. Scientists at Johns Hopkins university have found that newly made nerves in an adult brain’s learning centre go through a one-month phase when they are just as active as the nerves in a developing child. The study, published in the journal Neuron, suggests that new adult nerves have a more profound role than simply replacing dead ones.

Scientists traced the chemical signals received by newly made nerve cells in the adult mouse hippocampus by injecting virus particles to light up nerve progenitor cells.