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Transplanting healthy neurons to help heal brain injury – influence of the brain environment on connectivity

12 July 2022

Pushing Boutons

Our brain cells, or neurons, form circuits to store our memories and process thoughts. They connect up at synapses – junctions where they exchange chemical messages. Brain injuries often destroy this fragile architecture, so here researchers investigate how transplanting healthy neurons might help to heal these complex wounds. A high-powered microscope focuses at different depths in a wounded mouse brain, watching as a transplanted cell (highlighted in turquoise) reaches out. It develops structures ready to form synapses – tiny ‘boutons’ (bright dots) along some of its outstretched branches. But after traumatic brain injury neighbouring neurons react too strongly–forming too many connections that may overwhelm the neurons, leading to seizures, and then pruning too many away as the brain tries to correct itself. The next challenge is to find the right balance of neighbourly signals to restore a healthy community of neurons to recovering brains.

Written by John Ankers

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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