The brain is one of the most important organs for most living beings , since it is in charge of allowing the functioning of the different systems and coordinating them with each other in order to achieve survival and adaptation to the environment. This organ has been studied for a long time, and each of its nooks and crannies has been explored and analyzed countless times.

But while some might think that being so analyzed little can be discovered now, the truth is that there is still much we do not know about it. In fact, even today there are still surprising discoveries being made about the king organ that allow us to explore and understand to a greater extent how the brain works and how it is capable of generating such variability in behavior and ability.

An example of this has occurred this year, in which a new type of nerve cell has been discovered: the rosehip neurons , of which we will speak briefly throughout this article.

What are rosehip neurons?

They are called rosehip neurons, rosehip neurons or rosehip neurons (their original name in English), a new type of neuron that has recently been found by an international team made up of experts from the University of Szeged and the Allen Institute for Brain Science .

The discovery was reported and published earlier this month, and was made accidentally while analyzing the brain tissues of two deceased subjects who had donated their bodies to science. Both centers discovered the presence of this type of neurons, collaborating later to study it: while the Hungarians analyzed their shape and properties, the Americans did the same with their genetics.

Rosehip neurons are a type of neuron that has been found in the first layer of the neocortex, in its most superficial area, and whose name comes mainly from its morphology (since it reminds of that plant). They are characterized by being relatively small and possessing a large amount of highly branched dendrites, although these branches are compacted. They also have axonal buds in the shape of a rosehip bulb. At the moment they have been found in the sensory cortex and are relatively non-prevalent, assuming only about 10% of layer I of the neocortex .

These are interneurons that have very specific connections with neurons located in the third layer of the cortex, and specifically they have been seen to make connections with pyramidal cells. In addition, their connection is very precise, connecting only to specific parts of the pyramidal neurons. It has also been seen that they have an inhibitory behavior, being GABAergic neurons that probably control the transmission of information in a very specific way. At the genetic level it has been observed that they have a genetic profile that for the moment has only been found in humans and that they allow the activation of a series of very specific genes.

What are its functions?

The discovery of rosehip neurons is extremely recent, and their exact function is not yet known. However, in the absence of further research, because of the areas in which they have been found and the connections they make with other neurons, it is possible to speculate and hypothesize about some possible functions .

For example, the fact that their performance is inhibitory and that they are GABAergic can make us think that they have the mission of controlling the information in a very precise way, being able to generate a greater control of the transmission of the information in such a way that unnecessary signals are blocked. The fact that they appear in the most external and phylogenetic part of the brain may be linked to elements such as consciousness, higher cognitive functions or precise processing of sensory information.

Only in humans?

One of the most surprising aspects of this type of neuron is the fact that it has only been discovered in humans, not in the mice samples that have been studied. This could be indicating the existence of a distinctive type of nerve cell in humans, something that experts say could help explain the existence of cognitive differences between us and other animal species.

However, it must be taken into account that the fact that its existence is not documented in other beings does not imply that it does not exist , and this may be due to the fact that it has simply not yet been analyzed or discovered in them. After all, rosehip neurons have just been discovered in people: it would not be unreasonable if they had not been observed or had been overlooked in other species. It would be useful to assess, for example, whether animals with intelligent behaviour such as apes or dolphins possess them.

Future research paths

The discovery of these neurons has implications of great relevance for the human being, and can help us to explain aspects of our psyche that we do not yet know .

For example, the study of the brains of people with different neurological and psychiatric diseases is proposed in order to assess whether rosehip neurons are present in them or could have some kind of alteration. Other possible avenues of research would be to explore whether there is any type of relationship between rosehip neurons and self-awareness, metacognition or higher mental capacities.

Bibliographic references:

  • Boldog, E., Bakken, T.E., Hodge, R.D., Novotny, M., Aevermann, B.D., Baka, J., Bordé, S., Close, J.L. Ten-Strength, F., Ding, S.L., Faragó, N., Kocsis, A.K., Kovács, B., Malter, Z., McCorrison, J.M., Miller, J.A., Molnár, G., Oláh, G., Ozsvár, A., Rózsa, M., Shehata, S.I., Smith, K.A., Sunkin, S.M., Tran, D.N., Venepally, P., Wall, A., Puskás, L.G., Barzó, P., Steemers, F.J., Schork, N.J., Scheuermann, R.H., Lasken, R.S., Lein, E.S. & Tamás, G. (2018). Transcriptomic and morphophysiological evidence for a specialized human cortical GABAergic cell type. Nature Neuroscience, 21: 1185-1195.