A unique neuron 'Rose hip neuron' that is responsible for human intelligence is discovered

Where does human intelligence come from? Although there is an old question, the answer is still not found in neuroscience. However, new neurons named " rosehip neuron " are found in the human brain, not in rodents such as mice that are often used in animal clinical trials, and animals and humans It is pointed out that it may be involved in separating intellect.

Transcriptomic and morphophysiological evidence for a specialized human cortical GABAergic cell type | Nature Neuroscience
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-018-0205-2

A new type of neuron lurks in the human brain, and we have no idea what it does | Popular Science
https://www.popsci.com/new-brain-cell-rosehip

Unknown cells were found in 10-15% of the upper layer of the cerebral neocortex , which is thought to be involved in learning and thinking and related to advanced cognitive abilities. The discovery of this new cell is based on research on the sequencing of individual gene profiles developed by Allen Laboratories in Seattle, USA and brain cells developed by the research team of Dr. Garbor Tamas of Szeged University in Hungary It is said that it was realized by combining the two research results of measurement of the electrical activity of

The newly found cell is a small thing which is only about half the size of the brain cell hitherto known and transmits a signal to other cells. The shape of the axon terminal has a shape like a rose hip of the rose fruit There was a feature to have. Therefore, it was named "Rose Hip Neuron", Dr. Tamas said. This rose hip neuron is a cell not found in other rodents such as mice.

by Dean Morley

The theory that humans are more intelligent than other animals is dominated by the theory that the size of the brain is the cause. However, there was also a theory that the difference in brain quality is due not only to the volume of the brain and the amount of brain cells, but also to human-specific brain cells that produce high cognitive abilities. This time, the opinion that the discovery of rose hip cells found only in humans without being found in rodents suggests the existence of special cells related to this intelligence has been issued.

So far, there have been many examples that clinical trials using mice can not be utilized by humans, such as treatment of brain diseases, but if there are human-specific cells like rose hip cells, that mystery seems to be solvable is.

by Charlotte Boyes

In addition, rose hip cells are not only found in rodents, it is not necessarily a special cell that only humans have. Therefore, it is likely to be investigated in the future whether there are cells similar to rose hip cells in relatively intelligent animals such as monkeys and dolphins.

It has also been pointed out that rosehip cells are involved in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease that affect cognitive abilities. Dr. Tamasu will explore the role of rosehip cells for psychiatric disorders peculiar to humans and at the same time will further study the diversity of other brain cells in the cortical layer.