Author: Aldiyarbek Nurlan
Translator: Tursunova Balkadisha
Editor: Anastasia Merentsova
Despite the fact that the mammalian brain has a large volume, the state of its activity is controlled by a much smaller number of neurons. Many of them are located in the brain stem, which controls mood, motivation, and motor activity. What is it like in the neurons of the brain stem? How do they develop in the embryonic brain? How do defects affect brain activity and behavior? - The authors tried to answer these and other questions.
The researchers found answers to these questions by studying the regulation of genes in the embryo's brain stem. The neuron phenotype is largely determined at an early stage of the embryo. By analyzing gene products in embryonic brain cells, researchers can now trace the pathways of neuronal differentiation and study what exactly happens when developing cells choose different pathways: for example, turning into a neuron that inhibits or activates its target. In this case, the differentiation pathways branch out, creating an amazing variety of neurons on which the functioning of the brain is based.
The researchers also studied mice with an imbalance in the differentiation of neurons that activate or suppress dopaminergic and serotonergic neurotransmitter systems. These mice are hyperactive and impulsive. Their hyperactivity can be reduced with medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201029105005.htm
