Experts Analyzed How Nerve Cells in the Human Brain Communicate at Sites Called Synapses

The University of Nottingham recently conducted a study regarding the reversal approach of molecular messages modification found in synaptic activities in the human brain. This novel method could be an effective system to help treatments against the known reversible mental health conditions. Among the target aspects of the new approach includes anxiety and the severe memory condition called dementia.

The research contributes as among the largest stepping stones to identify the complex details behind the brain's cell communication process. In addition, the findings could be a part of the numerous developments that formulate new therapies and other types of treatments against psychiatric conditions and neurological disorders.

How Nerve Cells and Synapses in Brain Work

Modified RNAs are present in situ at pre- and post- synaptic sites within CA3/CA4 neurons.

(Photo : Helen et al.)

University of Nottingham's School of Sciences expert Helen Miranda Knight led the study. The group made it possible with the help of collaborative efforts from various institutions, including the Schools of Medicine, Life Sciences, and Bioscience. The collective results were analyzed through advanced utilities such as the School of Life Sciences Imaging Facility or SLIM, the Deep Seq: Next Generation Sequencing Facility, and the Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre.

Synapses is the collective sites where the nerve cells in the human brain communicate. These are the gaps in between each of the molecules that pass signals from one cell to another. Research says that as the brain actively learns or remembers memory, the signaling capacity of synapses improves over time. MedicalXpress said in a report that the synapses that are damaged could make the circuit system vulnerable to neurological inflictions. When this damage happens at an excessive rate, the dysfunctional synapses and circuits could affect an individual's overall psychological and cognitive state. The negative impacts of the condition are usually observed in the cognitive abilities of people with dementia or other mental conditions.

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Mediated Demethylation Shows How Brain Cells Communicate

Both the synapses and the nerve cells could excel or fail on their respective neurological functions based on the proteins that RNA data form in the genes. In theory, the RNAs are always on the spot whenever needed during the synaptic signaling procedure. In recent studies, the RNAs could be added with a methyl group or molecules that could mark a specific message that it carries. The addition of these groups could also affect the binding between DNA and RNA with proteins and control the production of particular proteins.

The latest research presented shows a possibility of reverse marking the RNAs at synapses. However, the process could be disrupted and may cause the functions of both nerve cells and synapses to fail, leading to unwanted toxic protein clump production. To get ahold of the details revolving around the neurological process, experts utilized microscopy. Through the observation, the authors were able to chart the precise time and location of RNAs and mark them in the tissue of the brain part, which manages memory data, known as the hippocampus.

Knight said that the study could categorize and differentiate the genomic activities that push the regulation of communication between nerve cells and synapses. The study was published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, titled "Modifying the m6A brain methylome by ALKBH5-mediated demethylation: a new contender for synaptic tagging."