14 DAY TRIAL // In addition to being beautiful in their simplicity, snowflakes are also different from each other, even if through minute variations. The same holds true for neurons, and it would appear that this is one of the most important traits of the human brain.
According to a team of investigators at the Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), these slight differences that exist between all neurons are what allow them to respond to incoming stimuli differently.
They also allow the nerve cells to encode information, and to elaborate different responses, in other words underlying some of the most important capabilities the human brain has.
The CMU team says that the size and shape of nerve cells is not necessarily what sets the functions neurons will have apart from each other.
The experts believe that it's the way neurons respond to external stimuli that really counts. Details of the idea appear in the latest online issue of the esteemed scientific journal Nature Neuroscience.
“I think neuroscientists have, at an intuitive level, recognized the variability between neurons, but we swept it under the rug because we didn't consider that diversity could be a feature,” explains Nathan N. Urban.
“Rather, we looked at it as a fundamental reflection of the imprecision of biology. We wanted to reconsider that notion. Perhaps this diversity is important – maybe it serves some function, he adds.
Urban is a professor at the university, and also the head of the CMU Department of Biological Sciences, e! Science News reports.
The team leader says that, even if the brain can be broken down into structures containing similar-looking neurons, slight variations in how these nerve cells react to stimuli are what allow that structural division of the brain to function the way it does.
“When we think about computer chips, variability in hardware clearly can be very destructive. Manufacturers spend a lot of time and expense making sure each processor on a chip is identical,” Urban adds.
“The brain is considered to be one of the most sophisticated computers there is. We were intrigued by the idea that the brain might make use of the messy, complex nature of its biological hardware to function more efficiently,” he explains further.
The CMU research group will from now on focus on determining how these minute variations occur, what proteins are involved in triggering them, and on how they can be harnessed to develop new therapies.