A new type of neuron has been discovered that may be unique to humans
Scientists have discovered a new type of nerve cell that appears to be unique to humans. Researchers are not yet sure what the function of the newly discovered neuron is, but they believe it may be involved in precise control between regions of the human brain.
What makes m zg human unique? What odr This makes it different from m zg in animals? This is one of the most intriguing questions about human m zgu. It is also one of those questions that re hard for scientists to answer.
– We don’t fully understand what makes a human m zg is unique,” said Dr. Ed Lein of the Allen Institute for Brain Science. – Analysis of the The differences at the level of the com rec and circuits is a good place to start such research, and now we have new tools to do so – added.
In the publication, which ra appeared on the pages of „Nature Neuroscience”, scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, along with colleagues at the University of Segedin, point to one possible answer to a difficult question about human m zgu. Researchers led by Lein and neuroscientist Gabor Tamas from the University of Segedin, Hungary, have discovered a new type of human com rki m zgowa, which rej never before seen in mice and other well-studied laboratory animals.
Tamas and Segedin University doctoral student Eszter Boldog named these com rki "neurons of wild vein" (Rosehip neurons) – this due to their axon bundle, which ry looks like ¿a after shedding flakes. The newly discovered com rki belong to a class of neuron called inhibitory neurons, which re inhibit the activity of other neurons m zgu.
The study did not show that this special com rka m zgowa is unique to humans, but the fact that this neuron does not exist in m zgs of rodents, is intriguing, adding these com rki to very kr a short list of specialized neurons , which re can only exist in humans or only in m zgach primates.
Researchers are not yet sure what function the new neurons have. Their analysis is still at an early stage, but they believe they may play a role in m disorders of m zgu.
In their study, the researchers used pr Tissue samples taken from m zg In deceased men over the age of 50, kt ers have donated their bodies for research. They focused on sections of the g rnal layer of the cortex of the m zg zg, the outermost part of the m zg responsible for human consciousness and many other functions, which re thought to be unique to our species. – This is the most complex part of the m zg and og lnie accepted as the most complex structure in nature, Lein said.
The Tamas research laboratory in Hungary is studying human m zg using a classical approach and conducting a detailed The next step for scientists is to study the shape in the com rek and their electrical properties. At the Allen Institute for Brain Science, on the other hand, researchers working to discover a set of gene in which re make blood cells rks of human m zgu unique.
Several years ago, Tamas visited the Allen Institute to present his latest research on specialized type of in human cells rec m tional. Both groups of scientists were quick to point out that they were studying the same com rka using very of techniques.
– We realized that we were approaching the same type of com rek, but by different routes,” said Tamas. The research teams decided to co- collaboration.
Allen Institute group, in a joint orking with scientists from the J. Craig Venter, found that the neurons of wild-type ży incorporate a unique set of gen , a genetic signature not seen in any of the types studied in the com rec m zgu animals. Researchers at the University of Segedin, on the other hand, noted that the newly discovered neurons form synapses with a different type of neuron in a different part of the human cortex, the so-called “blood cell”. pyramidal neurons.
What seems to be unique about the new neurons is that they connect to only one specific part of their com m unity partner rk, indicating that they can control the flow of information in a very specialized way b.
– If we think of all inhibitory neurons as the brakes in a car, the neurons of the wild ży will allow the car to be stopped d in very specific locations,” said Tamas.
The next step scientists is the search for new neurons In other parts of the m zgu and explore their potential role in disorders of m zgu.
Source Source: Allen Institute for Brain Science, fot. Tamas Lab, University of Szeged
