New neurons control brain traffic
It is not only the number of brain cells that separates our brain from that of other animals’. New studies show that we might also have a very special type of brain cells.
Hungarian scientists have studied the difference between brain tissue from the external layer of the cerebral cortexes of mice and humans, and in the human brain, they discovered an unknown type of brain cells. The cerebral cortex is responsible for sophisticated functions such as thought processes, learning, and abstract thinking.
The scientists named the new cells rose hip neurons because of their shape. The rose hip neurons are restrictive neurons that regulate the flow of signals between other brain cells, almost like a traffic light.
The rose hip neurons make up 10-15 % of the restrictive neurons in the external layer of the cerebral cortex, but their contact points with other cells indicate that they are important in connection with slowing down signals to the ramifications of the brain cells. The scientists aim to map out the neurons’ accurate roles and examine if defective rose hip neurons are related with mental conditions such as schizophrenia, psychosis, and depression.