Neurons Actively Compensate for Electrical Imbalances at the Genetic Level, MU Researchers Demonstrate: New study finds that neurons actively “fine tune” themselves at the genetic level
Neurons are electrically charged cells in the nervous system that interpret and transmit information using electrical and chemical signals. A neuron’s electrical charge is determined by the flow of ions – charged atoms – in and out of the cell through pores, called ion channels. These pores open, allowing ions to rush in, and then shut. The neuron becomes charged and “sparks” the next neuron in line.
NIH scientists find that restocking new cells in the brain’s center for smell maintains crucial circuitry
For decades, scientists thought that neurons in the brain were born only during the early development period and could not be replenished. More recently, however, they discovered cells with the ability to divide and turn into new neurons in specific brain regions. The function of these neuroprogenitor cells remains an intense area of research. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that newly formed brain cells in the mouse olfactory system — the area that processes smells — play a critical role in maintaining proper connections.
When we learn, we associate a sensory experience either with other stimuli or with a certain type of behavior. The neurons in the cerebral cortex that transmit the information modify the synaptic connections that they have with the other neurons. According to a generally-accepted model of synaptic plasticity, a neuron that communicates with others of the same kind emits an electrical impulse as well as activating its synapses transiently.