The cerebral cortex lacks the ability to replace neurons that die as a result of Alzheimer's, stroke, and other devastating diseases. A new study shows that a Sox2 protein, alone or in combination with another protein, Ascl1, can cause nonneuronal cells, called NG2 glia, to turn into neurons in the injured cerebral cortex of adult mice. The findings reveal that NG2 glia represent a promising target for neuronal cell replacement strategies to treat brain injury.