Scientists Finally Understand How Neurons Coordinate More Effectively: The Secret Lies in Fractals

Understanding neuron coordination has been one of the brain’s great mysteries.

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Pablo Martínez-Juarez

The human brain is the body’s most complex organ, to the extent that there are likely more things scientists don’t know about it than they actually do. One of the great mysteries surrounding its function is how the billions of neurons within the brain coordinate to form a network with countless connections.

Multiscale organization. Recent research has shed light on how neurons are organized in the human brain to effectively perform their tasks in a coordinated manner. The findings were published in the journal Cell.

A high-performing business. In a post for The Conversation, Brandon Robert Munn, a researcher at the University of Sydney and co-author of the study, provides an analogy to illustrate the remarkable functioning of our brain cells. “It’s a bit like being a worker in a high-performing business,” he says.

Munn is referring to the fact that neurons must strike a balance between their individual skills and their ability to work as part of a team. As such, the study aimed to determine how these neurons achieve the right balance.

40% to 50%. The study revealed that neurons dedicate between 40% and 50% of their activity to “individual tasks,” while the remainder is focused on “scalable teamwork.” One of the most notable findings is that this organizational pattern isn’t exclusive to the human brain. It can also be observed in a variety of species across the animal kingdom.

In fact, the research team noticed the same division of labor in invertebrates, such as fruit flies and some nematodes, as well as in mammals like mice and apes. According to Munn, this suggests that animals have maintained this organizational structure despite being separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution.

As they say, if it works, don’t touch it.

Fractals. The study also revealed a “fractal hierarchy” in brain functioning, meaning that cells form networks that integrate into larger networks, creating a cohesive organism. Interestingly, the patterns of activity remain consistent regardless of the observation scale.

Calcium imagining. To investigate neuronal activity, the team used a method known as calcium imagining.

Calcium imagining bridges cellular-scale analyses and examinations of entire brain regions, allowing researchers to see how specific areas are activated or deactivated. Using fluorescent sensors to measure calcium levels, this methodology enables the study of tens of thousands of neurons in real time.

Adapt or die. The team also conducted simulations of neuronal activity based on their observations. Researchers discovered that this fractal hierarchy optimized brain performance.

This strategy could not only maximize resource efficiency but also enhance adaptability. It may also explain why this organizational approach is found in brains that have evolved separately for nearly a billion years, such as the brains of fruit flies and humans.

Image | Bioscience Image Library by Fayette Reynolds

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