This is indeed the first report that newborn neurons in adult brain have morphological and electrophysiological characteristics of adult granule cells, and thereby demonstrates that these new neurons are functional. This represents a major advance by providing the first evidence of the functionality of these newborn cells. However, having said that, and as indicated in the last paragraph of the paper, the significance of these new neurons in the context of the function of the hippocampus or the behavior of the animal remains to be determined. This is a difficult task because it requires selective manipulation of adult neurogenesis, followed by a study of the functional consequences of increased or decreased numbers of new neurons. For example, how does neurogenesis impact behavioral models of learning and memory?

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