[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [HEALTH]

3 clusters · 52 sources · 8 days · First seen · Last updated

Stanford research on dual human brain systems

Overview

Researchers at Stanford University, in collaboration with Caltech and UC San Francisco, have identified that the human brain is a composite of two distinct nervous systems rather than a single unified organ. This discovery, published in Nature Neuroscience, challenges the long-held scientific model that the entire brain originates from a single population of progenitor cells during embryonic development.

The study details two separate developmental lineages that evolved independently over approximately 550 million years. One lineage forms the forebrain and midbrain, which manage higher cognitive functions such as language, reasoning, and consciousness. The second lineage forms the hindbrain (or rhombencephalon), which regulates vital survival functions including breathing, heart rate, and sleep.

Utilizing mouse embryos, researchers observed that two non-overlapping neural progenitor populations exist as early as 7.5 days after fertilization. Lead author and developmental biologist Kyle Loh noted that while the brain functions as one organ, it is constructed from these two separate parts that eventually connected to form the integrated brain seen in vertebrates. The study found that one group activates the Otx2 gene to form the forebrain and midbrain, while the other activates the Gbx2 gene to contribute to the hindbrain. This biological distinction is also reflected in the structure of chromatin within the cells.

This finding provides a potential explanation for historical difficulties in growing specific hindbrain neurons in laboratory settings. By identifying these distinct progenitor cells, scientists have successfully cultivated hindbrain motor neurons in a laboratory for the first time, opening new avenues for studying and treating neurodegenerative diseases that affect the brain stem, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).

Entities

Stanford University · Stanford Medicine · Kyle Loh · Nature Neuroscience · Rayyan Jokhai

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Timeline

  1. [HEALTH] 8 sources
    Stanford researchers find human brain may consist of two fused neural systems

    Stanford researchers found the human brain likely formed from two distinct neural systems that fused over 500 million years ago, offering new insights into neurodegenerative diseases like ALS.

  2. [HEALTH] 22 sources
    Stanford researchers find human brain consists of two distinct organs

    Stanford researchers have found that the human brain is actually two distinct organs that evolved separately and fused together, governing both vital survival functions and higher cognition.

  3. [HEALTH] 22 sources
    Stanford researchers find human brain consists of two distinct nervous systems

    Stanford researchers discovered the human brain consists of two distinct nervous systems that evolved separately, offering new ways to study diseases like ALS and SMA by growing hindbrain cells in labs.

Sources

albiladpress.com · azolifesciences.com · boingboing.net · columbuspost.com · crev.info · dailymail.co.uk · dailytimes.com.pk · dcnews.ro · dimokratia.gr · emvolos.gr · en.baoquocte.vn · fehmarn24.de · genk.vn · hna.de · independent.co.uk · innovationnewsnetwork.com · ipadizate.es · it-bg.org · kenh14.vn · khabarfoori.com · kibrismanset.com · kreiszeitung.de · kurierverlag.de · leak.pt · leinetal24.de · lexmedicanews.com · lifo.gr · m.takvim.com.tr · merkur-online.de · myportal.gr · naftemporiki.gr · nazology.net · negarmag.com · newsmonkey.be · numerama.com · offthepress.com · op-online.de · ortho-online.de · perlavision.icrt.cu · psychologytoday.com · puterea.ro · raillynews.com · sarabic.ae · sci.news · singtaousa.com · techexplorist.com · techxeber.az · thecooldown.com

This summary has been updated 5 times: see revision history