Neurogenesis in adulthood: Structural barriers to brain plasticity and cross-cultural insights into cognitive resilience
Original framing: “Your brain’s unexpected ability to regenerate and how to harness it” — New Scientist
Cross-culturally, cognitive plasticity is framed differently: in Japanese 'ikigai' (purpose-driven living) or Korean 'jeong' (emotional connection), neurogenesis is seen as tied to social embeddedness rather than individual effort. These frameworks highlight that 'harnessing' neurogenesis requires collective support systems—something absent in Western individualistic models. For example, the Andean 'ayni' (reciprocal labor) practice fosters mental well-being through communal effort, a dynamic that contrasts with the solitary 'self-improvement' narrative of Western neuroscience. The omission of these perspectives reinforces a Eurocentric view of brain health as an isolated, marketable commodity rather than a relational and cultural process.
The narrative of adult neurogenesis as an 'unexpected' discovery obscures a long history of marginalized knowledge and systemic inequities that shape brain health.
Indigenous and folk traditions, from the Maori 'whakapapa' to African 'talking circles,' have long understood cognitive resilience as a relational and cultural process—one that modern neuroscience is only now validating through reductionist lenses. Structural barriers, such as colonial erasure and biomedical funding inequities, have prioritized individualistic, marketable solutions (e.g., drugs) over collective, culturally grounded approaches that could democratize brain health. The trickster lens exposes how Western science pathologizes stress while ignoring how systemic oppression itself suppresses neurogenesis, only to later monetize the 'fix.' Future pathways must decolonize research, reduce systemic stressors, and integrate marginalized voices to ensure neurogenesis is a universal right—not a privilege. Actors like the World Health Organization, Indigenous research institutions, and urban planners must collaborate to reimagine brain health as a systemic, relational, and equitable endeavor.