Closing the circle on nerve regeneration
In an article just out now in the journal Nature Neuroscience1 scientists describe a new a gene - called AP2gamma – crucial for the neural development of the visual cortex, in a discovery with implications for the therapeutics of neural regeneration as well as to provide new clues about how the brain evolved into higher sophistication in mammals. The cerebral cortex is the folded, outside layer of the brain, involving it like a tree bark. It is also the most recent brain structure having appeared with mammals - where is responsible for higher brain functions including memory, thought and reasoning but also sensory responses - and is organized in several layers of neurons, with different cortical areas (with distinct neural anatomy) performing different functions. read more