Tiny, hairlike"antennae" protrude from the surface of brain cells, and now, scientists have unveiled a detailed map of these wires across the whole human cortex. They hope the new map will guide future research into a class of diseases that cause these structures to malfunction.
In the brain, neurons and their associated helper cells, called glia, need primary cilia to effectively receive and send signals. However, until now, little has been known about cilia's structure or organization in the brain or how they slot into the network of interactions between neurons in the brain known as the"connectome."
To create the new map, the researchers pieced together images of the six layers of the human cerebral cortex; the images depicted"slices" of a tissue sample that had been collected during a surgery to treat an adult patient with epilepsy. One by one, the team looked at the cilia that emanated from each brain cell and studied how they interacted with one another.
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Source: LiveScience - 🏆 538. / 51 Read more »