November 22, 2024

Rethinking Brain Design: Human Neurons Challenge Old Assumptions With Unique Wiring

Yangfan PengThe human neocortex is much thicker and more complicated than that of a mouse. Researchers had previously presumed– in part due to lack of data– that it follows the same fundamental principles of connection. A team of Charité scientists led by Geiger has actually now used remarkably uncommon tissue samples and advanced innovation to demonstrate that this is not the case.A smart approach of eavesdroping on neuronal communicationFor the study, the researchers examined brain tissue from 23 people who had actually undergone neurosurgery at Charité to treat drug-resistant epilepsy. Throughout surgery, it was clinically essential to eliminate brain tissue in order to get to the diseased structures underneath it. The patients had actually consented to using this access tissue for research purposes.Rotating restoration of neurons. Credit: Charité

Yangfan PengNew research deciphers electrical wiring of the human neocortex.New research led by Charité– Universitätsmedizin Berlin and released in Science reveals that the circuitry of nerve cells in the human neocortex differs substantially from that in mice. The study discovered that human nerve cells primarily transmit signals in a unidirectional manner, whereas mouse nerve cells usually send out signals in looping patterns. The group used a computer system simulation that they developed according to the same principles underlying the human network architecture to demonstrate that this forward-directed signal circulation has advantages in terms of processing data.A micropipette from the multipatch gadget approaches a specific neuron. It was also more efficient, with the exact same efficiency needing the equivalent of 380 neurons in the mouse design, however only 150 in the human one.An economic role design for AI?” The directed network architecture we see in people is more effective and saves resources due to the fact that more independent neurons can handle various tasks all at once,” Peng discusses.