Cells send electrical impulses throughout the body, but electrophysiologists struggled to tune into these signals until the patch clamp technique was developed.
So-called mossy fiber synapses in the hippocampus can meter the amount of neurotransmitter they receive by sending glutamate against the usual direction of synaptic flow.
In an unexpected twist in neuroscience dogma, the cells on the receiving end of neurotransmission appear to be able to release glutamate to regulate the transmitting cell’s activity.
Overactive immune cells identified in a mouse model and in postmortem human brain tissue may offer a potential therapeutic target for cognitive delays associated with the condition, researchers report.
After a decades-long pursuit, researchers have confirmed the identity of the pore of the mechanotransduction channel in vertebrates’ inner ear hair cells.
Flexible patches of silicone that stick to skin and conduct electricity could serve as the basis for a new, reusable electrode for medical applications.