A large population of immature neurons is present in the ventromedial portion of the adult primate amygdala, a region that receives substantial direct projections from the hippocampal formation. Here, we show the effects of neonatal (n = 8) and adult (n = 6) hippocampal lesions on the populations of mature and immature neurons in the paralaminar, lateral, and basal nuclei of the adult monkey amygdala. Compared with unoperated controls (n = 7), the number of mature neurons was about 70% higher in the paralaminar nucleus of neonate-and adult-lesioned monkeys, and 40% higher in the lateral and basal nuclei of neonate-lesioned monkeys. The number of immature neurons in the paralaminar nucleus was 40% higher in neonate-lesioned monkeys and 30% lower in adult-lesioned monkeys. Similar changes in neuron numbers were also found in two monkeys with nonexperimental, selective, bilateral hippocampal damage. These changes in neuron numbers following hippocampal lesions appear to reflect the differentiation of immature neurons present in the paralaminar nucleus. After adult lesions, the differentiation of immature neurons was essentially restricted to the paralaminar nucleus and was associated with a decrease in the population of immature neurons. In contrast, after neonatal lesions, the differentiation of immature neurons involved the paralaminar, lateral, and basal nuclei. It was associated with an increase in the population of immature neurons in the paralaminar nucleus. Such lesion-induced neuronal plasticity sheds new light on potential mechanisms that may facilitate functional recovery following focal brain injury.immature neuron | migration | subventricular zone | plasticity | neurodevelopmental disorders P revious studies have shown the existence of cells expressing markers typically associated with immature neurons in various regions of the adult mammalian brain (1-5), which suggested a strong potential for neuronal plasticity following focal brain injury in adult individuals (6-9). One such brain region that contains a large population of immature neurons at birth is situated along the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle and includes the paralaminar nucleus of the amygdala in monkeys (3, 10, 11) and humans (5). These immature neurons are positive for Bcl2, class III β-tubulin, doublecortin (DCX), and polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) (3,(12)(13)(14)(15). In monkeys, the population of immature neurons present in the paralaminar nucleus at birth decreases after 1 y of age (10). At the same time, the number of mature neurons increases, thus suggesting that neuronal differentiation occurs in the amygdala over a prolonged course of postnatal development. However, a large population of immature-looking neurons remains into adulthood (10). Additionally, although a number of cellular mechanisms involved in the regulation of postnatal neurogenesis in neurogenic brain regions have been identified (16), the specific factors that may induce the differentiation of immature neurons in nonneurogenic regio...