Treatment of brain damage

A method for treating a cognitive deficit in a mammal caused by brain damage, said method comprising administering pluripotent cells into a damaged mammalian brain, wherein said damage is primarily in one hemisphere and said administration is into the brain hemisphere contra-lateral to the brain hemisphere containing the primary site of damage, wherein said pluripotent cells are hippocampal mouse cells comprising a gene encoding the tsA58 mutant of the SV40 large T antigen under the control of an H-2Kb promoter, wherein said pluripotent cells are capable of differentiating into neural cells, and wherein said pluripotent cells are administered in an amount effective to improve cognitive function.