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Found! Cells that drive brain's adaptability
Monday January 02, 2012 05:25:19 PM,
IANS
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Tel Aviv:
Glia cells, derived from the Greek word for glue, hold the brain's
neurons (cells) together and protect the cells that determine our
thoughts and behaviours.
Researchers say that glia cells, which had long puzzled
scientists, are central to the brain's adaptability, learning and
information storage.
Actually, glia cells do much more than hold the brain together,
says doctoral student Maurizio De Pittą of Tel Aviv University (TAU)
Schools of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical Engineering. A
mechanism within the glia cells also sorts information for
learning purposes, the journal Public Library of Science reports.
"Glia cells are like the brain's supervisors. By regulating the
synapses (junctions of nerve cells), they control the transfer of
information between neurons, affecting how the brain processes
information and learns," De Pitta adds, according to a Tel Aviv
statement.
De Pittą's research, supervised by Eshel Ben-Jacob, along with
Vladislav Volman of the Salk Institute and the University of
California-San Diego and Hugues Berry of the Universite de Lyon in
France, has developed the first computer model that incorporates
the influence of glia cells on synaptic information transfer.
The model can also be implemented in technologies based on brain
networks such as microchips and computer software, says Ben-Jacob
says, a professor and aid in research on brain disorders such as
Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.
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