Scientists Discover a New Type of Brain Cell in Humans

A team of 34 international scientists have discovered a new type of brain cell in humans that is not found in mice and other animals used to model human brains in experiments.

Rosehip neurons are an inhibitory neuron that forms synapses with pyramidal neurons. According to Dr. Trygve Bakken, co-author of the article in Nature and a neuroscientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science, “We all have inhibitory neurons and excitatory neurons, but this particular type of inhibitory neuron is what’s new in this study. It’s special based on its shape and its connections and also the genes that it expresses.”

Dr. Bakken and his team believe that this discovery will help them understand the role of rosehip neurons in human disease as well as to identify whether these particular brain cells are located in other parts of the brain.

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