Brain complexity: different cell types (Introduction)

by David Turell , Friday, February 20, 2015, 01:07 (3565 days ago) @ David Turell

Forty cell types catalogued, using genomic mapping:-http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-02-brain-reveals-unknown-cell.html-"In the present study, the scientists used large-scale single-cell analysis to answer some of these questions. By studying over three thousand cells from the cerebral cortex in mice, one at a time and in detail, and comparing which of the 20,000 genes were active in each one, they were able to sort the cells into virtual piles. They identified 47 different kinds of cell, including a large proportion of specialised neurons, some blood vessel cells and glial cells, which take care of waste products, protect against infection and supply nerve cells with nutrients.-"With the help of this detailed map, the scientists were able to identify hitherto unknown cell types, including a nerve cell in the most superficial cortical layer, and six different types of oligodendrocyte, which are cells that form the electrically insulating myelin sheath around the nerve cells.-"There are estimated to be 100 million cells in a mouse brain, and 65 billion in a human brain."-Not only are there thousands of synapses for each neuron, there are many different types of neurons. More evidence of how complex the brain is.