One brain cell can do a lot: neurons far more powerful than anyone thought

Some preliminary research in Germany and Holland has shown that just one of the brain’s 100 million neurons can be enough to produce behavioral responses. This is major news to the whole science of neurology.

Previously it was thought that neurons couldn’t, or at any rate didn't, do much independently. The brain is still a mystery, and it keeps surprising researchers. This particular surprise, however, has ramifications for a lot of biology. It seems basic enough, but it really changes the entire assessment of what neurons can do. Having made the point that a thousand or so neurons are thought to form networks for processing, the BBC article explains the significance of this research: “However, in some creatures with simpler nervous systems, such as flies, a single neuron can play a more significant role. The latest research suggests this may also be true in "higher" animals.

The team, from the Humboldt University in Germany and the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, stimulated single neurons in rats and found this was enough to trigger a behavioural response when their whiskers were touched.” US research has confirmed this, and added weight to the idea that computational abilities could be more complex, “with different synapses - the many junctions between neurons and other nerve cells - able to act independently from those found elsewhere on the same cell.” That statement is a bit obscure. What it means is that the synapses, being gaps, are distinct from each other, and aren’t necessarily related to the other neural “pathways” affecting the same cell. The brain cell can operate separate circuits, if that’s clearer. Synapses are also areas where degrees of response, and different types of responses are transmitted. Some synapses are electrical, some are chemical. Neurons handle anything up to 10,000 synaptic contacts with other neurons, hence the natural belief in networks of neurons, which is the obvious observed behavior. This research shows a very high level of efficiency and functional capacity in neurons, and it does explain how animals with relatively few neurons are able to function effectively. They don’t really need a mass of neurons, just enough to do the job. What it means for human science is that the neuron, which is a fundamental basis of a lot of human biology, including motor neurons, etc, is far more versatile than ever thought. It might be possible for a lot of previously “impossible” conditions to be treated with cloned neurons, or similar techniques. That’s now pretty simple science, well understood. It may also mean that pernicious diseases like Motor Neuron Disease now have some more options, if it’s possible to do more with reduced neural capacity, which is one of the glaringly obvious potentials of this research. Sufferers may also benefit greatly from possible “bypass” scenarios, reestablishing neural networks relatively quickly, using the “new” capacity of the neurons. To give a perspective: nerve impulses travel at 700m a second, with that level of complexity. There’s an obvious level of multiple redundancies with the neural ability to operate independently. This is big news, indeed, for science and for millions of people with neurological diseases.