Day: March 18, 2011

Winnerscience: We all know that the neuron is the basic unit of information processing and the building block of the brain and it works together with other neurons and cells throughout the body and it allows us to feel, think, move and breathe. In other words, neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signalling. It is also known as nerve cell. Now a team of researchers from the University of Montreal and McGill University have discovered a type of “cellular bilingualism” – a phenomenon that allows a single neuron to use two different methods of communication to exchange information. An overview of this discovery was published in the Nature Reviews Neuroscience journal (Neuroscience is the archetypal multidisciplinary science encompassing a variety of fields that share the common goal of attempting to provide a complete understanding of the structure and function of the central nervous system. A series of advances in molecular, developmental and cognitive neuroscience, stimulated by the advent of powerful new experimental techniques and theoretical approaches, have now rendered some of the most enduring neurobiological questions increasingly tractable. This explosion of knowledge has in turn created a need for new tools to efficiently organize and communicate this information. Nature Reviews Neuroscience covers the breadth and depth of modern neuroscience by providing an authoritative, accessible, topical, and engaging first port of call for scientists who are interested in all aspect of neuroscience — from molecules to the mind. It has a very high 2009 impact factor of 26.483). Continue reading “Bilingual neurons and the secrets of brain disease”