Zinc is Vital for Learning, Memory, & Synaptic Plasticity. Saturday, October 15, 2011 By: Byron J. Richards, Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist New research has proven for the first time that zinc is a vital nutrient for healthy nerve transmission, especially involved with learning, memory, and the formation of new nerve connections (synaptic plasticity). “We discovered that zinc is essential to control the efficiency of communication between two critical populations of nerve cells in the hippocampus,” said James McNamara, M.D., senior author and chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Duke.
It has long been known that zinc is stored in nerve cells, especially in activating nerves that are glutamine-driven. Surprisingly, the researchers also discovered that zinc regulates the brakes for this process as well. Zinc deficiency will therefore impair learning, memory, and human ability. This new study shows that zinc adequacy is important for healthy brain function and should be added to the list of nutrients that are good for brain health. Unlocking Human Potential: The Rise of the Glial Cell. Sunday, January 01, 2012 By: Byron J. Richards, Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist As 2011 comes to a close, scientists are now reaching broad consensus on the power of the glial cell to regulate brain function, supervising how your brain regulates information and learns.
This new understanding represents a seismic shift in our understanding of neuroscience, opening the door for strategies to rejuvenate your brain and keep your cognitive abilities and mood in good working condition at any age – and especially as you grow older. Glial cells are named after the Greek word for glue. As imaging technology improved over the past decade it became apparent that glial cells were highly active in brain function. Numerous studies show that your social network of glial cells don’t like too much inflammation, too much stress, too much toxicity, etc. What has also become obvious is that glial cells love nutrition. I have been promoting the importance of glial cells for a number of years.
Antidepressants Increase Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Production through Monoamine-Independent Activation of Protein Tyrosine Kinase and Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase in Glial Cells. + Author Affiliations Address correspondence to: Dr. Minoru Takebayashi, Department of Psychiatry and Institute of Clinical Research, National Kure Medical Center, 3-1 Aoyama, Kure 737-0023, Japan. E-mail: mtakebayashi@kure-nh.go.jp Abstract Recent studies show that neuronal and glial plasticity are important for therapeutic action of antidepressants. Major depression is a common and severe illness affecting a large number of individuals during their lifetime, and it is primarily treated with antidepressants. Recently, it was demonstrated that adult neurogenesis induced by antidepressant is critical to antidepressant effects (Santarelli et al., 2003). GDNF, a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily, was originally purified from a rat glial cell line supernatant as a trophic factor for midbrain dopamine neurons, and it was later found to have pronounced effects on other neuronal populations (Airaksinen and Saarma, 2002).
Materials and Methods Reagents. Cell Culture. Results. Mystery of the Human Brain's Glia Cells Solved --Key to Learning & Information Processing. "Glia cells are like the brain's supervisors. By regulating the synapses, they control the transfer of information between neurons, affecting how the brain processes information and learns. " Maurizio De Pittà of Tel Aviv University's Schools of Physics and Astronomy and Electrical Engineering Scientists have long puzzled over the role of Glia cells in the activities of the brain dedicated to learning and memory. In a new breakthrough, Tel Aviv University researchers say that glia cells are central to how the brain brain adapts, learns, and stores information.
Glia cells do much more than hold the brain together, according to De Pitta. A mechanism within the glia cells also sorts information for learning purposes.De Pittà's research has developed the first computer model that incorporates the influence of glia cells on synaptic information transfer. Image at top of page shows a network of neurons (in red) and glia cells (in green) grown in a petri dish.
Explore the nervous system. Divisions of the nervous system table of contents Neuroanatomy: the structure of the nervous system. To learn how the nervous system functions, you must learn how the nervous system is put together. The nervous system can be divided into several connected systems that function together. Let's start with a simple division: The nervous system is divided into the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system.
Let's break the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system into more parts. Central Nervous System The central nervous system is divided into two parts: the brain and the spinal cord. Adult human brain weighs 1.3 to 1.4 kg (approximately 3 pounds). For brain weights of other animals, see brain facts and figures. Peripheral Nervous System The peripheral nervous system is divided into two major parts: the somatic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. Somatic Nervous System The picture on the left shows the somatic motor system. Autonomic Nervous System Functions: Smarter brain ‘glue’ — glia cells take the spotlight | On the Brain. Many neuroscientists will tell you that nerve cells in the brain (called neurons) are the most important part of the nervous system.
They are, after all, the primary cells of the nervous system, responsible for conducting electrical currents to encode and process our senses, thoughts, memories and emotions. But there is a growing contingent of neuroscientists who study other brain cells called glia, named for the Greek word for glue. For much of the last century of neuroscience research, glia were second-class citizens to neurons, thought of simply as brain “glue” — a structural support system for neurons. That opinion has been changing in the last 20 years or so. Neuroscientists have discovered that these cells are essential for brain development, proper metabolic brain function, neuronal health, and now, perhaps, for intelligence itself. While this is particularly exciting for neuroscientists who study glia, all of neuroscience has a lot to gain from these new findings. Neuroglia. Glial cells in a rat brain stained with an antibody against GFAP 23-week fetal brain culture astrocyte As the Greek name implies, glia are commonly known as the glue of the nervous system; however, this is not fully accurate.
Neuroscience currently identifies four main functions of glial cells: To surround neurons and hold them in placeTo supply nutrients and oxygen to neuronsTo insulate one neuron from anotherTo destroy pathogens and remove dead neurons. For over a century, it was believed that the neuroglia did not play any role in neurotransmission. Functions[edit] Some glial cells function primarily as the physical support for neurons. Glial cells are known to be capable of mitosis. For example, astrocytes are crucial in clearance of neurotransmitters from within the synaptic cleft, which provides distinction between arrival of action potentials and prevents toxic build-up of certain neurotransmitters such as glutamate (excitotoxicity). Types[edit] Different types of neuroglia Other[edit]