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Glia cells are much more than glue, they also regulate learning andmemory by wwy yrj
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Glia cells are much more than glue, they also regulate learning andmemory by WWY YRJ
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| Article Posted: 09/10/2012 |
| Article Views: 54 |
| Articles Written: 1412 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
| Word Count: 623 |
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Glia cells are much more than glue, they also regulate learning andmemory |
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Glia cells, named for the Greek word for "glue," hold the brain'sneurons together and protect the cells that determine our thoughtsand behaviors, but scientists have long puzzled over theirprominence in the activities of the brain dedicated to learning andmemory. Now Tel Aviv University researchers say that glia cells arecentral to the brain's plasticity - how the brain adapts, learns,and stores information. According to Ph.D. student Maurizio De Pitta of TAU's Schools ofPhysics and Astronomy and Electrical Engineering, glia cells domuch more than hold the brain together.
A mechanism within the gliacells also sorts information for learning purposes, De Pitt says."Glia cells are like the brain's supervisors. By regulating thesynapses, they control the transfer of information between neurons,affecting how the brain processes information and learns." De Pitt 's research, led by his TAU supervisor Prof. EshelBen-Jacob, along with Vladislav Volman of The Salk Institute andthe University of California at San Diego and Hugues Berry of theUniversit de Lyon in France, has developed the first computermodel that incorporates the influence of glia cells on synapticinformation transfer. Detailed in the journal PLoS Computational Biology , the model can also be implemented in technologies based on brainnetworks such as microchips and computer software, Prof. Ben-Jacobsays, and aid in research on brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.
Regulating the brain's "social network" The brain is constituted of two main types of cells: neurons andglia. Neurons fire off signals that dictate how we think andbehave, using synapses to pass along the message from one neuron toanother, explains De Pitt . Scientists theorize that memory andlearning are dictated by synaptic activity because they are"plastic," with the ability to adapt to different stimuli. But Ben-Jacob and colleagues suspected that glia cells were evenmore central to how the brain works. Glia cells are abundant in thebrain's hippocampus and the cortex, the two parts of the brain thathave the most control over the brain's ability to processinformation, learn and memorize.
In fact, for every neuron cell,there are two to five glia cells. Taking into account previousexperimental data, the researchers were able to build a model thatcould resolve the puzzle. The brain is like a social network, says Prof. Ben-Jacob. Messagesmay originate with the neurons, which use the synapses as theirdelivery system, but the glia serve as an overall moderator,regulating which messages are sent on and when.
These cells caneither prompt the transfer of information, or slow activity if thesynapses are becoming overactive. This makes the glia cells theguardians of our learning and memory processes, he notes,orchestrating the transmission of information for optimal brainfunction. New brain-inspired technologies and therapies The team's findings could have important implications for a numberof brain disorders. Almost all neurodegenerative diseases areglia-related pathologies, Prof.
Ben-Jacob notes. In epilepticseizures, for example, the neurons' activity at one brain locationpropagates and overtakes the normal activity at other locations.This can happen when the glia cells fail to properly regulatesynaptic transmission. Alternatively, when brain activity is low,glia cells boost transmissions of information, keeping theconnections between neurons "alive." The model provides a "new view" of how the brain functions. Whilethe study was in press, two experimental works appeared thatsupported the model's predictions.
"A growing number of scientistsare starting to recognize the fact that you need the glia toperform tasks that neurons alone can't accomplish in an efficientway," says De Pitt . The model will provide a new tool to beginrevising the theories of computational neuroscience and lead tomore realistic brain-inspired algorithms and microchips, which aredesigned to mimic neuronal networks. Additional References Citations. I am Food & Beverage writer, reports some information about lactose intolerance cheese , lactose intolerance yogurt.
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