Unique Human Neuron Discovered | The Institute for Creation Research

Unique Human Neuron Discovered

With a new addition to the category of “uniquely human features,” MIT neuroscientists discovered a feature of human—not animal—brain cells. Certain human brain cells have much longer extensions called dendrites, and this research team found a uniquely human reason for it.
 
The cerebrum lies just beneath the skull. It has folds and bends. This largest part of the brain manages all kinds of information, and lots of it—even more than the entire internet.1 It interprets sight, sound, temperature, taste, and touch inputs. It initiates muscle movements. It stores and retrieves memories, helps perform reasoning, and stores intelligence and personality. Clearly, it does more than animal brains, but how?

This largest part of the brain manages all kinds of information, and lots of it—even more than the entire internet. Tweet: This largest part of the brain manages all kinds of information, and lots of it…even more than the entire internet.

Unique Human Neuron Discovered: http://www.icr.org/article/unique-human-neuron-discovered/

@ICRscience @icrbthomas

#Science #Research

Just last month a separate team reported the discovery of a whole new class of neuron unique to humans. They called them rosehip cells based on their shapes.2 We don’t yet know what they do, but since they make up 10 percent of our neurons, future research will surely reveal their important function.
 
The outermost layer of the folding cerebrum is called the cortex, and it comes loaded with neurons. But humans have a much thicker cortex than animals. Human neurons near the outer edge of the cortex use extra-long dendrites to gather data from the inner edge. Now the MIT team has tested the electrical properties of these fascinating cells.
 
They published their results in the October 18 issue of the journal Cell.3
 
The team found that although the human dendrites were much longer than those of rats, both have the same number of ion channels. These channels regulate current flow. This difference—fewer channels per unit length in humans—suggests that “individual neurons can perform more complex computations on the information,” according to MIT News.4 In other words, areas within these cells, instead of whole cells like in animals, act like tiny transistors.
 
Harnett told MIT News, “If you have a cortical column that has a chunk of human or rodent cortex, you’re going to be able to accomplish more computations faster with the human architecture versus the rodent architecture.”4

It looks like the human brain is uniquely equipped to perform all the functions required by the human mind and heart. Tweet: It looks like the human brain is uniquely equipped to perform all the functions required by the human mind and heart.

Unique Human Neuron Discovered: http://www.icr.org/article/unique-human-neuron-discovered/

@ICRscience @icrbthomas

#Science #Research

It looks like the human brain is uniquely equipped to perform all the functions required by the human mind and heart. They work hand-in-glove, as though they were created for one another.
 
References
1. Thomas, B. Your Brain Has More Memory Than the Internet. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org February 4, 2016, accessed October 24, 2018.
2. Sherwin, F. Newly-Discovered Brain Cell. Creation Science Update. Posted on ICR.org September 13, 2018, accessed October 24, 2018.
3. Beaulieu-Laroche, L., et al. 2018. Enhanced Dendritic Compartmentalization in Human Cortical Neurons. Cell. 175(3): 643-651.
4. Trafton, A. Electrical properties of dendrites help explain our brain’s unique computing power. MIT News. Posted on news.mit.edu October 18, 2018, accessed October 24, 2018.
 
*Brian Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.
 
Article posted on November 6, 2018.

The Latest
NEWS
Creation's Easter Message
While many Christians still consider the creation doctrine a fringe issue, a proper understanding of the Christian message finds creation at its core...

NEWS
ICR Veteran Don Barber Retires
Don Barber   After 34 years with the Institute for Creation Research, Director of Enterprise Technology Don Barber will retire...

CREATION.LIVE PODCAST
The Sanctity of Life | Creation.Live Podcast: Episode 23
Abortion is a big issue culturally and in the church. How can believers love our neighbors and act as the hands and feet of Christ when it comes...

NEWS
Plant Receptors Are Designed to Control Immunity and Development
God has designed plants to continuously track their environment.1 They do so with specially designed detectors (also called receptors) on...

CREATION PODCAST
Homo Naledi: The Lies Behind Evolution's Rising Star | The Creation...
Homo naledi, once evolution's 'rising star,' was considered to be a prime example of human evolution. But is it really proof? Or...

NEWS
A Subsurface Ocean on Mimas?
Scientists have analyzed data obtained from the Cassini spacecraft and concluded that irregularities in the orbit of Saturn’s moon Mimas indicate...

NEWS
In Theaters March 20 & 21: The Ark and the Darkness
Is Genesis true? What about Noah’s Flood? How did Noah fit the animals on the ark? Wasn’t it a local flood? Have you asked these questions? Though...

NEWS
Enigmatic Fossil Plants
The pre-Flood world thousands of years ago was unlike the world of today.1 Unfamiliar animals and plants were common, and there were a lot...

NEWS
Surprisingly Colorful Fossil Snail Shells
Finding organic compounds such as flexible dinosaur collagen and complete bone cells1,2 is becoming common, much to the shock and consternation...

NEWS
March 2024 ICR Wallpaper
"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said." (Matthew 28:6 NKJV) ICR March 2024 wallpaper is now available for mobile, tablet,...