The most complex biological structure known, the brain is a marvel of biotechnology. Different depending on the species, it continues to be studied avidly by a multitude of researchers around the world. And now, researchers have recently discovered a new type of neuron in humans. Neurons that have never been found elsewhere.
neurons unique to humans?
The years pass and our researchers continue to study our brain. Particularly complex, it intrigues as much as it fascinates. The studies are linked and now, recently, scientists from the Allen Institute in Seattle (United States) and the University of Szeged (Hungary) have discovered a new type of neurons. Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, this study reveals that these cells have never been observed in other laboratory animals. A first therefore, which raises many questions. After analysis, it is revealed that these neurons are inhibitory neurons. As you know, inhibitory neurons are located in the cerebral cortex and serve to counteract the effects of excitatory neurons.
That is to say that these neurons come to slow down the activity of other neurons. Baptized “rosehip neurons” by the researchers, they have a morphology approaching a bud or a rose without petals. And the most interesting thing about this study is that these neurons have never been found anywhere other than in humans. It is thus possible that the human species has an endemic type of neuron not found in laboratory animal species. By studying the brains of rodents, for example, scientists have found no trace of these “rosehip” neurons.
These neurons were discovered while researchers were dissecting the brains of men in their 50s who donated their bodies to science. Hungarian researchers focused on the shape and electrical functioning of cortical cells, while Americans focused on gene expression. And analyzing their findings, the results proved that there was a particular genetic signature in these cells. These rosehip neurons will be analyzed in more depth so that the researchers can know, or not, whether they are involved in certain neurological pathologies. Only, the absence of these neurons in rodents calls into question the reliability of animal models for the study of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
