Regenerating the damaged central nervous system

It is self-evident that the adult mammalian brain and spinal cord do not re generate after injury, but recent discoveries have forced a reconsideration of this accepted principle. Advances in our understanding of how the brain develops have provided a rough blueprint for how we may bring about regene ration in the damaged brain. Studies in developmental neurobiology, intrace llular signalling and neuroimmunology are bringing the regeneration field c loser to success. Notwithstanding these advances, clear and indisputable ev idence for adult functional regeneration remains to be shown.