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THE BRAIN IS one of the least understood parts of the human body.
The centre of all activity, it is essential for human life and development.
New prize winning research is helping to reveal how the brain is developed – by figuring out how the different components of the organ work together to form it.
Researcher Flavio Donato sought to further understand how different mechanisms work together in the little understood centre of the brain to make human cognition possible.
For decades it has been understood that in order for certain parts of the brain to mature and establish specific connections which make cognition possible, waves activity must travel from the sensory organs (like the eyes and nose) to the centre of the nervous system in the brain.
This process is key to proper brain development in young animals.
Donato and his team found that in one particular area related to memory and navigation, the signal source for maturing that part of the brain originated in a particular set of neurons located deep within the brain.
The cells seemed to be intrinsically programmed to kick off maturation in that area from the moment an animal is born. Donato found that when you switched off these neurons an important part of the brain didn’t properly develop.
Donato pioneered a novel way of tracking and labelling specific neurons in the brain by a single injection into the brain of mice at certain points. This allowed the researchers to track the neurons by their birth date.
“These experiments opened up a new world to us,” Donato said.
By observing neurons based on their birth date, we realized that these cells were somehow special and very different from the other surrounding cell types, which was instrumental to find out how and to what extent they influenced the assembly of the network.
He said that it was important to understand how developing circuits of neurons functioned.
He said only by doing this would we have a chance to “comprehend how the brain as a whole gives rise to those sophisticated phenomena that make us who we are”.
Donato, in his prize winning essay in the subject - Assembling the brain from deep within – states that his research could have important implications in understanding degenerative brain disorders like as Alzheimer’s disease.
His essay won him the grand prize in the annual international competition for The Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology.
I read the headline and then then the next line about fruit flies and for a second I was very confused as to why fruit flies would need clothes! I appolagise it’s early and my brain hasn’t had its coffee yet!
Spell check Rachel, I APOlOGIZE for the pedantics.
…if you’re American. ‘Round these parts, we spell it apologise.
Great bit of research.
Burrrrnnn
Did you not read her comment? She hasn’t had her coffee yet.
If that’s for me Ciara, I was directing my comment at Robert (love correcting grammar nazis!)
But I should have been clearer – I was also without coffee at the time; three cups up now and still not on top of my game.
Jeeze relax Robert (mutters to self: “there’s always one”) as for the lovely ladies who actually got and defended my comment thank you! ……Oh and merry christmas ladies, hope ye all have a wonderful holiday :)
This article is very poorly written as there are some huge benefits to habituation and this is actually great news that they are making a breakthrough in this area. Tens of thousands of people in Ireland
Suffer from tinnitus. It can be seriously debilitating and if you can’t habituate to it can lead to prolonged stress anxiety and depression. Another issue is chronic pain management. If there is no cure for your condition and the only way to treat it is with powerful pain killers then habituation could be hugely beneficial. Well done trinity for the breakthrough and long may it continue.
This is theJournal, not theJournalofScience. Think of it as food for thought – - it’s never comprehensive.
This is what we should be spending money on not throwing into the septic tank that is welfare. I really cannot see the value in wasting good money on useless people
Is your real name enda kenny? Such a useless comment from somebody who has probably never been unemployed due to having a relative who knows somebody who knows somebody.
Assuming people who have no job are useless is a bit …. well useless.
Welfare also includes child support which your mother most likely availed of to raise you
But hey, your right, fcuk logic!!
Enda…….Sheer ignorance.
I have Aspergers syndrome, which is an an autism spectrum disorder. I also have a PhD from Trinity College, in geology.
As a child I suffered allot from sensory sensitivities, clothes itched terribly, especially wool. Imagine wearing clothes made of glass fibre. I fainted in class because of the smell of the paper used in art class. On a school tour I had to stand up on the tour bus as the seats were too itchy. I’m still very sensitive to sound.
I have friend with Aspergers who was bullied by school bullies who would scratch their nails across their school bags, the sound caused her physical pain. She’s still frightened, traumatised, by the sound of material, clothes / bags, making any sort of scratching sound.
These problem lessens for some with age, but not all. This research is welcome. It certainly will one day help young children with autism avoid the difficulties with debilitating sensory sensitivity.
Well said David!!
I too am picturing fruit flies in little hats n gloves….and ugg boots :)))
Good comment. Just wait for 5 hours until the useless people wake up so they can reply to your comment!
for Enda (purple egg)
Was my reply early enough for you? By the way i work but this attitude towards the unemployed makes me sick. 14% unemployment even after mass emigration yet a few years ago we had 3 % unemployment. Are all those people useless???
Ruari if you have a phd and are fluent in say 5 languages then I would pity you if you were on welfare, anyone else well they are just not worth bothering about
Enda i emigrated to get work but i know lots of good people, some educated and some not who are not in a position to emigrate and cannot find work. They are not useless. Thats a very narrow minded view you have. About 3% dont want to work. In economic terms 3% is full employment.
Bandy – not to mention the doctors, nurses, guards, taxi, drivers, shift workers ect that were working last night.
Guess those genes don’t work when my jocks get in a bunch. I can assure you I feel that when it happens!!
Culchies… How do they explain the track suit bottoms & shoes or the wranglers & mucky work boots to the pub??
Couldn’t be stupidity that the Irish pay tax on their Family Homes to bail out the banks.
Must be genetic. What do you think Profs?
Get a real job for god sake , no one cares
Love it bud
Beam us all up Enda to your utopian planet. On second thoughts…
Hope they find the gene as to why potential scientists waste time on pointless research and eradicate it.
And the above comment is why we shid no waste any money on the underclasses their brains aren’t developed enough to contribute to society
I shid u not :)
You shid have spent more time in English class buddy.
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