![]() ![]() when a few locks of the cells, the leaden key gave way the turnkey. “While more work needs to be done to fully understand this process, this study may help us understand how genetics or disruption of the immune system contributes to neurological disorders. found dead in a brook at Wichbold, as grinding a lathing - hammer. “These findings demonstrate that microglia are a dynamic and integral component of the complex machinery that allows neurons to reorganize their connections in the healthy mature brain,” said Grayson Sipe, a graduate student in Majewska’s lab and co-author of the study. It is possible that when the microglia’s synapse pruning function is interrupted or when the cells mistakenly remove the wrong connections – perhaps due to genetic factors or because the cells are too occupied elsewhere fighting an infection or injury – the result is impaired signaling between brain cells. These findings may provide new insight into disorders that are the characterized by sensory or cognitive dysfunction, such as autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia. The researchers also pinpointed one of the key molecular mechanisms in this process and observed that when a single receptor – called P2Y12 – was turned off the microglia ceased removing the connections between neurons. This is similar to what occurs during an infection or injury, in which microglia are activated, quickly navigate towards the injured site, and remove dead or diseased tissue while leaving healthy tissue untouched. The microglia “pulled up” the appropriate connections, physically disconnecting one neuron from another, while leaving other important connections intact. They observed that the microglia targeted the synaptic cleft – the business end of the connection that transmits signals between neurons. The researchers found that in the mice’s brains microglia responded rapidly to changes in neuronal activity as the brain adapted to processing information from only one eye. “These findings show that a precisely choreographed interaction between multiple cells types is necessary to carry out the formation and destruction of connections that allow proper signaling in the brain.” ![]() ![]() “We have long considered the reorganization of the brain’s network of connections as solely the domain of neurons,” said Ania Majewska, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and senior author of the study. While this discovery sheds new light on the mechanics of neuroplasticity, it could also help explain diseases like autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia, which may arise when this process breaks down and connections between brain cells are not formed or removed correctly. A new study out today in the journal Nature Communications shows that cells normally associated with protecting the brain from infection and injury also play an important role in rewiring the connections between nerve cells. ![]()
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