Figure 5.

Hippocampal deficits in proposed neurogenesis-related conditions. Diagram showing aging and some diseases potentially associated with a chronic loss of adult newborn neurons in the HF. The horizontal axis is organized according to hippocampal deficits, with cognition and mood regulation at opposite ends. In the vertical axis, brain physiology and neurodegeneration are at opposite ends. Units are arbitrary. Although depression is the hallmark of affective disorders, it is intrinsically associated to cognitive decline. On the other hand, Alzheimer’s disease is a predominantly debilitating dementia but depressive or anxious symptoms are common. Therefore, regardless of the pathophysiology involved, no hippocampal condition can actually be separated in either of the deficit groups, and neurogenesis may be a mechanism underlying such clinical spectrum.