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Neurogenesis is the process by which neurons are created.  It was long thought that neurogenesis only happened during pre-natal development and that the nervous system was a fixed system.  Now, scientists have discovered the neuroplasticity of the brain.  It is generally accepted in the scientific community now that hippocampal neurogenesis does occur.  One other interesting finding they have found is that anti-depressants can help increase neurogenesis.  What this discovery means is that they now think that there is a link between a malfunctioning hippcampus and depression.  The hippocampus region of the brain is necessary for the formation of new explicit long-term memories.  It helps organize memories from different areas of the brain (vision, smell, hearing, touch, taste, emotion).  The hippocampus binds them all together.  Damage to the hippocampus and the rhinal cortex (surrounding tissue of the hippocampus) causes an inability to form new explicit declarative memories.  While the hippocampus is not where long-term memories are stored, it is essential to the creation of them.  Explicit memory is considered a conscious retrieval of information from long-term memory.  There are two types of these memories: semantic memories and episodic memories.  Semantic memories are comprised of general knowledge about the world (including facts, rules, concepts in the world).  Episodic memories are autobiographical memories of specific events experienced by a person.