Some astrocytes have functions previously thought to be exclusive to neurons
NIH/Image Point FR/BSIP/ALAMY
It’s strange that we still don’t know what our brains are made of. But despite decades of research and the development of high-tech scanning technology, it remains true. Sure, we know the basics. The average human brain weighs about 1.4 kilograms and has the consistency of soft tofu. It is made up of two common cell types: neurons, which do the thinking, and glia, which support them. But beneath this simple explanation lies a mind-boggling complexity, one that continues to amaze even neuroscientists.
We all know about neurons, which are cells that send electrical impulses between different areas of the brain. The brain contains about 86 billion of them, and they come in many different types depending on their shape, function, and properties. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about them.rosehip neuron, discovered in 2018. The cells, named for their shape, appear to dampen the electrical activity of other neurons. Interestingly, there are no equivalent cells in the mouse brain, even though mice tend to have analogues of other human brain cells.We actually don’t know much about how they work in the human brain, he says. rebecca hodge At the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, Washington, he was part of the team that discovered the cells.
glia, The number is approximately 86 billion In the human brain, it’s even harder to pin down…
Source: www.newscientist.com
