Scientists have engineered a protein able to record the incoming chemical signals of brain cells (as opposed to just their outgoing signals). These whisper-quiet incoming messages are the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate, which plays a critical role in how brain cells communicate with one another but until now has been extremely difficult to capture.
The findings are published in Nature Methods and could transform how neuroscience research is done as it pertains to measuring and analyzing neural activity.
The special protein that researchers at the Allen Institute and HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus have engineered is a molecular “glutamate indicator” called iGluSnFR4 (pronounced ‘glue sniffer’). It’s sensitive enough to detect the faintest incoming signals between neurons in the brain, offering a new way to decipher and interpret their complex cascade of electrical activity that underpins learning, memory, and emotion. iGluSnFR4 could help decode the hidden language of the brain and deepen our understanding of how its complex circuitry works. This discovery allows researchers to watch neurons in the brain communicate in real time.
