New progress of neuroscience

What is the main progress of neuroscience in the 2000-2010 decade?

The main feature of the science of the brain during this decade is that they have developed simultaneously in many aspects, from molecular biology to social sciences, through neurological studies and cognitive processes, with brain imaging techniques. But the truly revolutionary change is that these disciplines are interlinked to form a unified science of mind, Neuroscience.

In the past, each industry participated in surveying the brain separately (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, psychology, etc.). In the beginning of the 21st century, this link has just begun to be made, first of all due to the development of molecular biology: in my opinion, this specialization acts as a yeast because a nature of molecular biology is efforts to establish causal correlations between molecular and cognitive levels.

Can you give an example of the catalytic role of molecular biology?

Consider our concept of mental illnesses. Until recently, diseases such as psychiatric isolation, autism or depression were mainly described by symptoms caused by psychological and environmental factors. What effective drugs are actually affecting any goal, people don't know. And people blame the pathogen that is the family and the circumstances surrounding the sick.

In 2001, Daniel Weiberger and his team at NIH (National Institutes of Health, including 20 institutes and 7 research centers related to human health) discovered genes. there is a tendency to lead to isolated mental illness. In 2003, an international team, including Thomas Bourgeron at the Pasteur Institute, identified the first genes involved in autism. These genes play a decisive role in the development of synapses, which are connections between neurons (neurons).

That same year, a research team in Finland identified a gene responsible for dyslexia.

Next, many similar genes were discovered. And now, many mental illnesses are considered to have genetic origins, which means there is a huge change in concept. Not only did the family and sick people get rid of their guilt, but that change also opened new doors to understanding the mechanism of those diseases and finding new treatments.

What will these discoveries lead to?

One of the most important recent discoveries is the frequent proliferation of neural cells in an adult brain. In the past, people thought that we were born with certain neurons.

But in 2003, Pierre-Marie Lledo and his team at the Pasteur Institute understood the generation of neurons at the cell level. They have demonstrated that some types of glial cells are converted into neurons and these neurons grow and connect not only with the neurons near them but also with a system of functions. olfactory nerves: they are attracted to this meridian region by a molecule created by the olfactory brain.

In 2008, this same team pointed out that this neuron generation was increased after an accident that hurt the olfactory bulb. Thus is a causal relationship between the molecular and cognitive levels (here is the perception of taste) has been demonstrated. It is a big step that opens up the prospect of rehabilitation: someday, it may be possible to recover many areas of injury in the human brain with stem cells, for example, to treat the disease. Alzheimer's.

What about the contribution of brain imaging techniques?

Technically, there is a particularly remarkable creation, which is the distribution of tenof photographic techniques (1). This technique began to be used in the 2000s, although it was developed by Denis Le Bihan many years ago.

Le Bihan is now the director of the NeuroSpin Laboratory, part of the Center for Atomic Energy (CEA), France. This groundbreaking technique is based on the distribution of water molecules in brain tissues, allowing to see in three-dimensional space the connections of brain regions. It began to be used to see modified systems after a brain stroke. Combined with functional magnetic resonance imaging, it allows to see that the two brain regions that participate in a visual task always have a lot of interconnection, whether that view is accidental or mastery. I mean.

Is that functional imaging technique also permitting consciousness surveys?

Yes, functional imagery opens up the ability to study the conscious process scientifically. Together with Stanislas Dehaenne, Professor of the Collège de France, (2) we proposed in 1998 a theory of the sense that functional imagery allows testing. This theory is based on the idea that in the brain, tower-shaped neurons with long axons form a system that connects with many different brain regions to create a conscious work space. And the synchronization between these neurons allows consciousness to appear.

This theory leads to experiments to observe differences in the brain between conscious and unconscious behaviors. In 2001, Stanislas Dehaenne and his colleagues used functional images to show that we can sense the meaning of a word without being conscious of seeing it: in this case, Brain regions are agitated differently from brain regions that participate in a conscious visual treatment.

At the same time, functional imagery also leads to progress in another area related to consciousness, about the ability to empathize (or forgive) and social relations, especially through the works of Chris Frith in UCL, belongs to University of London. Chris Frith found that when two individuals have resonant vibes, the stimulated brain regions are identical and the ability to empathize is not found in people with mental illness isolated.

As another example, in 2003, Bruno Wicker, at the Institute of Neuroscience Research on Mediterranean Perception, showed that when a person observes another person expressing something of an aversion, he The head also stimulates the brain areas like the other person.

So, can brain research on social relations be a direction in the future?

Yes, I think that there are signs of a new synthesis between neuroscience and humanities and social sciences, and this convergence is essential to winning mental illnesses and bringing them to More insights about people.

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(1) In short, this is an improvement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), using the magnetic field variation to draw an anisotropic distribution map of water molecules. in the mind.

(2) «Collège de France» is a very special high-level research university of France. The nominated professors are well-known scientists (members of the Academy of Sciences, Nobel Prizes, Fields etc.), tasked with presenting their «current studies» ( no textbook is allowed to be repeated), and the learner is free to listen to the lecture and attend the discussions, the seminars are opened. «School» does not grant any degree or certificate of study.