Neuroscience knew of three mechanisms by which neurons communicate with each other in the brain: synaptic transmission, axonal transmission, and the so-called “gap junctions” between neurons.
Now, a study carried out by biomedical engineering researchers at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, describes the finding of a hitherto unknown form of neural communication. The discovery may be important for neuroscientists to understand more precisely the neural activity involved in both specific brain processes and neurological disorders.
According to the North American study, this new neural communication system spreads through brain tissue and can jump wirelessly from neurons located in one section of brain tissue to a different region, even if they have been disconnected by surgery. The researchers found that neuronal activity can be modulated, boosted, or blocked by applying weak electric fields . The discovery provides new perspectives on neural communication mechanisms, through a mysterious process that is not related to previously known neural connection systems and that may be responsible for the brain allowing us to concentrate as much as possible .
Scientists have found that when many neurons fire together, they generate weak electric fields that can be recorded with an EEG, but they thought these fields were too fragile to contribute to neuronal activity. However, new experiments have shown that these fields can not only excite cells, but can also produce their own electric fields and generate a wave of self-propagating activity.
The discovery of the new communication system came while the team of researchers analyzed a mechanism of slow brain wave propagation , known as ephaptic coupling or electric field coupling. Researchers had known about this mechanism for a long time, but were unaware of its exact function and did not expect that brain waves could propagate spontaneously .
But the surprise came when they began to examine this brain activity in vitro by studying brain waves in hippocampal sections taken from mice. What they found was that slow periodic activity can generate electric fields that, in turn, activate neighboring cells , which is a form of neural communication without synaptic, chemical, or junctional transmission. Without a doubt, the most groundbreaking discovery of the Case Western Reserve University researchers was that when the two pieces remain physically close together, electric fields can activate neurons through a complete gap in the severed brain tissue .
This could help experts better understand the neural activity surrounding both specific brain processes and neurological disorders.
The study authors explained that to ensure that the cut was complete, the two pieces of tissue were separated and then reattached while an empty space could be seen under the operating microscope. And you could see how the brain wave seemed to jump through the empty gap all the time. The slow periodic activity of the hippocampus generated an effect on the other side of a complete cut through the entire section.
In order to find out if this communication also occurs in the human brain and what its function is, the authors of the research expressed the need for further studies. For now, it is a surprising discovery with great potential to better understand the complex neural activity carried out by the brain.
