A National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU) research team has developed a technique to observe the interactions of interneurons in live animals under the microscope.
NYCU Institute of Neuroscience assistant professors Chen Tsai-wen (陳摘文) and Lin Bei-jung (林貝容) led the team, whose research was published this month in the scientific journal Neuron.
“Interneurons are relatively rare nerve cells,” Lin said in a statement. “In the past, scientists could only sporadically observe the transmission of electrical signals from the interneuron cells through implanted electrodes.”
Photo courtesy of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
She described the previous research as “finding needles in haystacks,” as scientists could only record one interneuron a month.
There was not a viable way to observe interneurons, she said.
The team developed a technique combining voltage imaging and fluorescent protein technologies, allowing them to record up to 26 interneurons in experiments, she said.
“Our research team found that interneurons do not activate randomly, but tend to do so together to generate action potential to transmit signals, and they seem to be able to find ‘like-minded friends’ to transmit electrical signals together,” Lin said.
Chen said that interneurons are cells that control the transmission of inhibitory nerve conduction in the brain and are closely related to the formation of brain waves.
“Brain waves derive from the potential changes from the synapses of nerve cells. Resonance of a certain number of cells must occur before brain waves can be recorded from the scalp,” he said. “The interesting thing about interneurons is that we can see from a microscope that they tend to find their partners and work together even if they have yet to reach the threshold for action potential.”
The research team used the self-developed technique to directly observe the collective actions of nerve cells of live animals, the university said.
“Their study shows the complicated way cranial nerves work together, which is crucial in understanding how the brain functions,” it said.
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