We’re closer than ever to mapping the entire brain to the microscopic level. Hundreds of neuroscientists across the world recently characterized more than 3,000 human brain cell types as part of thejournals today. This super-focused attention to detail could unlock many mysteries surrounding that complex organ, such as what happened in our brains to distinguish us from other primates.
Our cells’ composition and organization is similar to those of our close relatives. However, the biggest differences seemed to occur in a brain region called the middle temporal gyrus, which is involved in processingand language. Humans had higher numbers of projecting neurons in this area compared to other species. What’s more, the researchers highlighted a difference in gene expression that promoted synaptic plasticity, which is the ability of neurons to strengthen brain connections.
A schematic of brain cells and related diseases. The bottom graph shows cell type association with 19 neuropsychiatric disorders and traits; darker red indicates stronger associations.Doctors are already using people’s genetic information to assess whether patients would be good candidates for a particular cancer treatment or to find the proper dose of a drug. This may soon include testing for neurological conditions. One, which analyzed 1.
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