Recent research study from UMC Utrecht and the Mayo Clinic exposes that our brain decreases behind formerly believed, taking place in between ages 30 and 40 rather of after25 By studying electrode grids put on epilepsy clients’ brains, scientists found that brain connections end up being much faster with age, doubling in speed, and supplying brand-new insight into brain function and advancement.
“Our brain continues to develop longer than we thought,” statesPh D. trainee Dorien van Blooijs.
According to current findings from the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht), our brain’s decrease takes place behind formerly thought. The research study, released in Nature Neuroscience, exposes that the decrease takes place in between the ages of 30 and 40, rather of after our 25 th birthday.
Dorien van Blooijs, a scientific technologist, and Frans Leijten, a neurologist, worked together with coworkers from both UMC Utrecht and the Mayo Clinic to carry out a research study on the aging procedure of our brain’s processing speed.
Faster connections
The scientists found, to name a few things, that the connections in our brains end up being progressively much faster: from 2 meters per second in kids aged 4 to 4 meters per second in individuals aged in between thirty and forty. A doubling, to put it simply. Only after that age does it decrease. “Our brain continues to develop a lot longer than we thought,” Van Blooijs stated.
The scientists likewise see distinctions in between brain areas. The frontal lobe, the front part of our brain accountable for believing and carrying out jobs, establishes longer than a location accountable for motion. Van Blooijs discusses, “We already knew this thanks to previous research, but now we have concrete data.” The advancement of speed is not a straight line, however rather a curve.
Brain map
The scientists acquired the information by making accurate measurements utilizing an electrode grid that some epilepsy clients get put on their brains (under the skull) in preparation for epilepsy surgical treatment. The grid includes 60-100 electrodes that can determine brain activity. “By stimulating the electrodes using short currents, we can see which brain areas respond abnormally. Thus, we can create a map of which areas should and should not be removed during epilepsy surgery,” Leijten stated.
The truth that the information might likewise teach the scientists something about how our brain works was a brand-new insight. “We have been collecting this data for about 20 years,” Leijten stated. “It wasn’t until a few years ago that we realized we could use the unaffected areas as a model for the healthy human brain.”
Van Blooijs includes: “If you stimulate an electrode in one area, a reaction occurs in another. That lets you know the two areas are connected. You can then measure how long it takes for the reaction to occur. If you know the distance between the two different brain regions, you can calculate how fast the signal is transmitted.”
Better computer system designs
The outcomes of this research study supply crucial details about our main nerve system. Scientists have actually long been attempting to map the connections in our brains. With this details, specialists can make more sensible computer system designs of our brains.
For these designs to work, in addition to details about the connections, accurate worths worrying the speed of those connections are required. “We now have these numbers for the very first time,” Leijten discusses, “With our data, researchers can make new and better computer models that increase our understanding of the brain. We expect our work to not only advance epilepsy research but also research into other brain disorders.”
Open to advance
With this publication in Nature Neuroscience, all information has actually ended up being openly available. This is called Open Science and it suggests that scientists from all over the world can utilize the information. Leijten: “By participating in research, patients contribute to progress. The knowledge we gain can be used to better treat future patients.” Van Blooijs will get her doctorate at the end of this year. She states, “A lot is possible with this data, more than we can do. I’m curious to see what kind of research all the creative people around the world will come up with.”
Reference: “Developmental trajectory of transmission speed in the human brain” by Dorien van Blooijs, Max A. van den Boom, Jaap F. van der Aar, Geertjan M. Huiskamp, Giulio Castegnaro, Matteo Demuru, Willemiek J. E. M. Zweiphenning, Pieter van Eijsden, Kai J. Miller, Frans S. S. Leijten and Dora Hermes, 9 March 2023, Nature Neuroscience
DOI: 10.1038/ s41593-023-01272 -0
