Sunday 20 May 2012

Alice in Ponderland

What did Alice found in the marvellous land of ponderland?
She learned how complex her brain was! 


Before falling down the rabbit hole she believed that it was mostly neurons forming the most part of her brain, allowing it to function. But Oh! Once down there she discovered a new group of cells which called themselves the neuroglia. Cells like oligodendrocytes and astrocytes were actually the carers of the neurons, supporting them and regulating their behaviour. They were in fact more numerous than the neurons themselves! Amazingly Alice also found out that these cells had a bad side too: they were involved in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease…

There is definitely still a lot to learn about our brains and surely every quest will always be a wonderful adventure!