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A piece of a neuron for sample processing

30.10.2013

When we look at the hands of a clock or a map of a city, the brain instantly processes visual information, and we can navigate in time and space. New studies by a group of scientists from University College London, Cambridge University (UK) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA) have shown that the simplest calculations can be performed by a short process of a neuron - a dendrite.

A group of scientists from British and American universities examined the neurons of mice, in particular, the part of the brain responsible for processing visual information. Scientists have achieved an important breakthrough: they were able to record incredibly complex electrical and optical recordings directly from a tiny dendrite of a neuron while the brain was processing visual information. These recordings showed that visual stimulation produces specific electrical signals directly in the dendrites, which are tuned to receive visual stimuli.

The new data disproved the widely held belief that this kind of computation is only done by the collaboration of large numbers of neurons, and demonstrates how the core components of a neuron can act as powerful computing centers in their own right.

Professor Michael Hausser noted that dendrites, long thought to be just a "funnel" for an incoming signal, actually play a key role in sorting and interpreting vast amounts of information.

It is assumed that dendritic processing is widespread in many areas of the brain and in many animal species, including humans.

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