Scientists have developed a detailed map of the human brain. PHOTO
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Scientists have created the largest and most detailed map of the human brain, showing about 3,300 cell types.
The map revealed a number of cell types previously unknown to scientists, Live Science reports with reference to the results of a study by scientists at the Allen Institute for Brain Research in the United States, which was published in the journal Science in the form of 21 articles.
Research began in 2017 to catalog cells found in the brains of humans, mice, and primates, monkeys, macaques, chimpanzees, and gorillas.
Scientists have found that the adult brain contains approximately 86 billion neurons and about 84 billion neuron cells.
| In the photo, Purkinje cells are large neurons located in the back and lower parts of the cerebellum. Photo: Steve GSCHMEISSNER/Science |
Neuronal cells include glia – “helper” cells in the central nervous system that provide cells with nutrients and regulate signal transmission.
“This is an extremely important work, because thanks to the atlas, a completely new field is opened, by studying which scientists will be able to look “deeper” into various types of creatures, which was previously impossible.” – says Ed Lane, a neuroscientist at the Allen Institute.
To create an atlas of the human brain, the latest technologies were used, which were previously used mainly for the study of the brain of animals.
Scientists, in particular, used transcriptomics, which involves cataloging all RNA in individual cells.
RNA is a genetic molecule that contains instructions for building proteins and performs other important tasks.
The scientists used epigenomics, which involves the study of chemical labels that are located on the surface of DNA and control the use of genes.
“Cell communication in the brain is what separates us from chimpanzees”– noted a neuroscientist from the Allen Institute, who participated in the Trygve Bakken study.
It is noted that the atlas of the human brain is currently the first draft. In the future, scientists want to decipher the functions of the newly discovered brain cells, which, in particular, are located in the brain stem.
Scientists also want to understand how the gene activity of different cells contributes to the development of neurological diseases.
We previously reported how traumatic memories affect the brain.
Read also: The load on the brain in old age can reduce the risk of developing dementia – scientists
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