Greek Australian discovers new area of the brain
A renowned Greek-Australian neuroscientist has discovered a previously uncharted part of the human brain in a part that is involved in the movement of our limbs and body.
“There is nothing more enjoyable for a neuroscientist than finding a previously unknown area of the human brain,” Professor George Paxinos, a researcher at Neuroscience Research Australia, told the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA-MPA) yesterday.
Dubbed the Endorestiform Nucleus by Paxinos, this part of the brain is located in the lower cerebellum section, an area that combines sensory and kinetic information.
“What is important is that this area is absent in monkeys and other animals. There must be some things that are unique to the human brain beyond its larger size, and this area is probably one of them,” Paxinos told ANA-MPA.
Paxinos is hailed as one of Australia’s most important brain mappers, having produced detailed atlases over the past 40 years that are used in surgery and cited in specialist publications. He admits that he has suspected the existence of this part of the brain for around 30 years, but had been unable to detect it.
“It found me. It was staring me in the face for 30 years,” he is quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“What remains to be done is to determine the function of this newly discovered brain region. Now that it has been mapped, it will be possible for it to be studied by the wider research community,” Paxinos told ANA-MPA.