Cutting off the dendrites from nerve cells in fruit flies revealed that they can regenerate.
Can dendrites be damaged?
While dendrites are damaged during stroke, traumatic brain injury and seizure, it is not known whether mature neurons monitor dendrite injury and initiate regeneration. We probed the response to dendrite damage using model Drosophila neurons.
How long does it take for dendrites to regenerate?
‘ And we were surprised because we found that not only is it possible, it’s actually much faster than axon regeneration: at least in the cells that we’re using, axon regeneration takes a day or two to initiate, while dendrite regeneration typically initiates within four to six hours and it works really well.