Toggle light / dark theme

Human Neurons Found to be Surprisingly Different From Other Mammals

Ion channels are crucial for neural communication; they control the flow and gradient of charged particles, creating electrical signals. Recent work report | Neuroscience.


In this study, the researchers assessed how dense ion channels were packed in the membranes of neuronal cells from ten species of mammals, including mice, rats, rabbits, ferrets, macaques, marmosets, macaques, humans, and one of the smallest known mammals, an animal called the Etruscan shrew. The team focused on a type of excitatory neuron typically found in the cortex of the brain, and three ion channels that are in the membranes of those cells; two are voltage-gated ion channels that control the movement of potassium, another is called the HCN channel and both potassium and sodium ions can flow through it.

Studies have suggested that the human brain is built like the brains of other mammals, said first study author Lou Beaulieu-Laroche, a former MIT graduate student. It was once thought that in mammals, these channels would be present at about the same density from one species to another.

Instead, the researchers determined that as the neurons got bigger, the density of ion channels increased. That was a notable finding, because as that density increases, more energy needed to move ions in and out of neurons, explained senior study author Mark Harnett, an associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences at MIT.

How Grief Rewires The Brain

Grief can be overwhelming. Here’s what’s going on in the brain when you’re heartsick.


28:49 minutes.

But having strong relationships also means the possibility of experiencing loss. Grief is one of the hardest things people go through in life. Those who have lost a loved one know the feeling of overwhelming sadness and heartache that seems to well up from the very depths of the body.

Dendrites may help neurons perform complicated calculations

Within the human brain, neurons perform complex calculations on information they receive. Researchers at MIT have now demonstrated how dendrites—branch-like extensions that protrude from neurons—help to perform those computations.

The researchers found that within a single neuron, different types of dendrites receive input from distinct parts of the brain, and process it in different ways. These differences may help neurons to integrate a variety of inputs and generate an appropriate response, the researchers say.

In the neurons that the researchers examined in this study, it appears that this dendritic processing helps cells to take in visual information and combine it with motor feedback, in a circuit that is involved in navigation and planning movement.

Temperature and reproduction link holds promise for insect control

Scientists have uncovered a set of neurons in fruit flies that shut down in cold temperatures and slow reproduction, a system conserved in many insects, including mosquitoes, which could provide a target for pest control.

Their study, published Feb. 16 in the journal Current Biology, takes a step toward understanding how a fly’s brain contributes to sensing the cold and limiting . Insects and animals, including many mammals, curb reproduction in the winter to protect their newborns from being exposed to harsh winter conditions.

The study has and agricultural implications, as tapping into environmentally-dependent mechanisms that influence reproduction in and crop pests may offer new control strategies. Mosquitoes act as reservoirs for the malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasite, which spend the winter inside them.

Stretchable Mesh Nanoelectronics for 3D Single‐Cell Chronic Electrophysiology from Developing Brain Organoids

There is a cyborg organoid platform developed by integrating “tissue-like” stretchable mesh nanoelectronics with 2D stem cell sheets. Leveraging the 2D-to-3D reconfiguration during organoid development, 2D stem cell sheets fold and embed stretchable mesh nanoelectronics with electrodes throughout the entire 3D organoid. The embedded electronics can then enable continuous electrical recording.

Scientists design stretchable mesh nanoelectronics, mimicking the mechanical and structural properties of brain organoids to build cyborg human brain organoids.

Using the 3D embedded stretchable electrodes, achieved reliable long-term electrical recording of the same hiPSC-derived neural tissue at single-cell, millisecond spatiotemporal resolution for 6 months, revealing the evolution of the tissue-wide single-cell electrophysiology over hiPSC-derived neuron development. Applying this technology to brain organoids at early developmental stages, they traced the gradually emerging single-cell action potentials and network activities.

#biomimicry #meshelectronics #hiPSC #neurallace #neuroscience


Building cyborg brain organoids through the integration of stretchable mesh nanoelectronics with human induced pluripotent stem cell derived progenitors and neurons through organogenesis is reported…