How we got our folded brains?

• Autores: Clare Wilson
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3146, 2017, pág. 14
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Daniel del Toro at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Munich, Germany, and colleagues wondered if some of the genetic changes in our brain's evolution might have been about more than just an increasing number of cells. They investigated the genes for two molecules--FLRT1 and FLRT3--which make developing brain cells stick to each other more. Human brain cells produce only a small amount of these compounds, while mice brain cells make lots. Del Toro's team created mice embryos that lacked functioning FLRT1 and FLRT3 genes, which meant their cortex cells were only loosely attached to each other, like those of humans. When the genetically altered mice were born and grew into adults, they had more folded brains. This finding was presented at the Cortex Evolution and Development conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, last month