A Brand New Type of Brain Cell | SciShow News

TL;DR

Scientists have discovered a new type of brain cell, called rosehip neurons, which may be unique to primates and humans, and could help us understand what makes us who we are.

Transcript

[ INTRO ] You might think that scientists have the human body pretty well figured out. They’ve only been studying it for, I don’t know, centuries. But a study published this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience documents a piece of ourselves that we didn’t know existed until now: a brand-new type of brain cell. This new neuron isn’t found in mic... Read More

Key Insights

• 🤙 Scientists have discovered a new type of brain cell called rosehip neurons, which may be unique to primates or humans.
• 😑 Rosehip neurons were discovered through examining their shape in living tissue and analyzing their gene expression using transcriptomics.
• 💨 These neurons are inhibitory and regulate the flow of information in the brain, potentially in a unique and specific way.
• 🐭 The discovery of rosehip neurons challenges the usefulness of lab mice as models for studying psychiatric and neurological diseases.
• 🛫 Researchers plan to investigate the presence of rosehip neurons in other parts of the brain to gain further insight into their function.
• 🖐️ Rosehip neurons may play a role in brain processes that are unique to humans or primates.
• 🤗 The discovery of rosehip neurons opens up new avenues for understanding the human brain and its complexities.

Questions & Answers

Q: What is the significance of the discovery of rosehip neurons?

The discovery of rosehip neurons is significant because they are a new type of brain cell that may be unique to primates or humans, and studying them could help us understand what makes us who we are.

Q: How were rosehip neurons discovered?

Rosehip neurons were discovered through two different techniques: examining the shape of neurons in living tissue, and analyzing gene expression using transcriptomics.

Q: What is the role of rosehip neurons in the brain?

Rosehip neurons are inhibitory neurons that regulate the flow of information in the brain, potentially in a specific and unique way due to their specific connections with pyramidal neurons.

Q: How do rosehip neurons differ from other neurons?

Rosehip neurons have a unique gene expression pattern that sets them apart from all other neurons studied before, and their shape and connections suggest they regulate information in a distinct way.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Researchers from Hungary and the US independently discovered a new type of brain cell called rosehip neurons, which are not found in mice and may be unique to primates or humans.

• The discovery was made through examining the shape of neurons in living tissue and analyzing gene expression using transcriptomics.

• Rosehip neurons are a type of inhibitory neuron that controls the flow of information in the brain, and their specific shape and connections suggest they may regulate information in a unique and specific way.