Regeneration in the adult Drosophila brain

Understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying neurogenesis after injury is crucial for developing tools for brain repair. We have established an adult model for investigating regeneration after central brain injury. Within 24 hours after Penetrating Traumatic Brain Injury (PTBI) to the central brain, we observe a significant increase in the number of proliferating cells. Between one- and two-weeks post-injury, we detect the generation of new neurons and glia and the formation of new axon tracts that target appropriate brain regions, suggesting there could be functional regeneration. Consistent with functional regeneration, locomotion abnormalities observed shortly after PTBI are largely reversed within 2 weeks of injury. Further, we find that cells surrounding the injury site upregulate neuroblast genes, such as and , and demonstrate that these cells give rise to the new neurons and glia. Taken together, our data support the hypothesis that young, adult brains are capable of neuronal repair after central brain injury. We anticipate that our model will facilitate the dissection of the mechanisms of neural regeneration and anticipate that these processes will have relevance to humans.