Category: Brain Development

New Discoveries Inside The Developing Brain

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Image shows the neocortex organised into thousands of columns of neurons. Each column has a diameter of 0.5mm and contains 10,000 neurons. The neocortex is also organised into 6 layers. In the background are other neurons making up the neocortical column.

Image shows the neocortex organised into thousands of columns of neurons. Each column has a diameter of 0.5mm and contains 10,000 neurons. The neocortex is also organised into 6 layers. In the background are other neurons making up the neocortical column.

The human brain develops with an exquisitely timed choreography marked by distinct patterns of gene activity at different stages from the womb to adulthood, report Yale researchers. The Yale team conducted a large-scale analysis of gene activity in cerebral neocortex —an area of the brain governing perception, behavior, and cognition — at different stages of development. The neocortex, Latin for “new bark,” is our third, newly human brain in terms of evolution. It is what makes possible our judgments and our knowledge of good and evil. It is also the site from which our creativity emerges and home to our sense of self.

The team found that the human brain is more like a neighbourhood, which is better defined by the community living within its borders than its buildings.“The neighborhoods get built quickly and then everything slows down and the neocortex focuses solely on developing connections, almost like an electrical grid,” said Nenad Sestan, professor of neurobiology at Yale’s Kavli Institute for Neuroscience and senior author of the study.  “Later when these regions are synchronized, the neighborhoods begin to take on distinct functional identities like Little Italy or Chinatown.”

The analysis shows the general architecture of brain regions is largely formed in the first six months after conception by a burst of genetic activity, which is distinct for specific regions of the neocortex. This rush is followed by a sort of intermission beginning in the third trimester of pregnancy. During this period, most genes that are active in specific brain regions are quieted — except for genes that spur connections between all neocortex regions. Then in late childhood and early adolescence, the genetic orchestra begins again and helps subtly shape neocortex regions that progressively perform more specialized tasks, a process that continues into adulthood.

The analysis is the first to show this “hour glass” sketch of human brain development, with a lull in genetic activity sandwiched between highly complex patterns of gene expression, said Sestan. Intriguingly, say the researchers, some of the same patterns of genetic activity that define this human “hour glass” sketch were not observed in developing monkeys, indicating that they may play a role in shaping the features specific to human brain development.

The findings emphasize the importance of the proper interplay between genes and environment in the child’s earliest years after birth when the formation of synaptic connections between brain cells becomes synchronized, which shape how brain structures will be used later in life, said Sestan. For instance, disruptions of in synchronization of synaptic connections during child’s earliest years have been implicated in autism.

Notes:

Mihovil Pletikos, Andre ́ M.M. Sousa, and Goran Sedmak of Yale are co-lead authors of the Yale study. Other Yale authors are Kyle A. Meyer, Ying Zhu, Feng Cheng, Mingfeng Li and Yuka Imamura Kawasawa.

The work was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, the James S. McDonnell Foundation, and the Kavli Foundation.

Imagae Credit: IBM/EPFL Blue Brain Project

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Neuronal activity during exposure to various images reveals distinct spatial groupings. The red region, for example, responds well to face stimuli. Credit by Takayuki Sato/RIKEN Brain Science Institute.

Neuronal activity during exposure to various images reveals distinct spatial groupings. The red region, for example, responds well to face stimuli. Credit by Takayuki Sato/RIKEN Brain Science Institute.

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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photo credit: Chandra Marsono via photopin cc

Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Inside the child’s brain

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrSR-55xXD8

This 7 minute video was created for school children to show them how to maximise their brains potential. It is part of an innovative teaching program by Thinkology® aimed at increasing student academic performance and reducing aggressive behaviours such as bullying and other disruptive behaviours. This video has had a significant impact on increasing students self – esteem, controlling bullying and increasing academic performance.

 

Weekly Neuroscience Update

Loneliness? It’s All a State of Mind

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Inside the teenage brain

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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Weekly Neuroscience Update

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An international team of scientists reported the largest brain study of its kind had found a gene linked to intelligence, a small piece in the puzzle as to why some people are smarter than others.