Tiny 'brains' found between brain cells

This bulge of brain cells should not be that hard to understand. What we need are tools.

Behold, the physical base of consciousness? NO

Between and around the billions of neurons in the human brain is an equally vital scaffold, the extracellular matrix (ECM).

An interlinked net of proteins and sugars that surrounds brain cells, the ECM is more than simple structural support; changes in the ECM can regulate complex brain functions including memory, learning, and behavior.

Buddha's Brain (Rick Hanson)

But studies of the brain's ECM have been limited by the lack of tools to observe dynamic changes to its structure. Now, a new genetic labeling tool developed by University of Utah Health researchers Dr. Igal Sterin, Ph.D. and Dr. Sungjin Park, Ph.D. has revealed new patterns in brain ECM in mice, including differences in the amount of matrix deposited on different types of neurons.

A major advantage of the tool is that it can detect changes in the ECM over time, giving new insights into how the brain develops.

The research is published in The Journal of Neuroscience.

• In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM) [1, 2] also called intercellular matrix (ICM), is a network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins, and hydroxyapatite that provide structural and biochemical support to surrounding [brain] cells [called neurons] [3, 4, 5]. Because multicellularity evolved independently in different multicellular lineages, the composition of ECM varies between multicellular structures; however, cell adhesion, cell-to-cell communication, and differentiation are common functions of the ECM [6]. More: extracellular matrix

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The new tool has two main parts -- a protein that binds to the main ingredients of the brain ECM fused to another protein that irreversibly sticks to a variety of synthetic fluorescent dyes.

When scientists introduced the tool into neurons, it bound to the surrounding matrix. They then added a fluorescent dye to make matrix structures visible.

Using this tool, the researchers were able to watch as ECM was deposited over time in cultured rodent brain cells, making out dense clusters of matrix that appeared on only certain neurons and at different times.

More on this breakthrough: New tool reveals details of the microscopic brain structures between neurons

• Fluorescent microscopy image of a section of mouse brain, where green is a conventional brain ECM marker. Magenta is the new tool developed by the researchers. Credit: The Journal of Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0666-24.2024.
• The Practical Neuroscience of Buddha's Brain: Happiness, Love, & Wisdom by Dr. Rick Hanson
• The Hacking of the American Mind by Dr. Robert Lustig, M.D.