Origins of the brain: Complex synapses drove brain evolution - The Diigo Meta page

• 17 Jun 08
  

  harry palmer

  synapses neuroscience invertebrates proteins research cogntion

  • "We studied around 600 proteins that are found in mammalian synapses and were surprised to find that only 50 percent of these are also found in invertebrate synapses, and about 25 percent are in single-cell animals, which obviously don't have a brain." 
     
    Synapses are the junctions between nerves where electrical signals from one cell are transferred through a series of biochemical switches to the next. However, synapses are not simply soldered joints, but mini-processors that give the nervous systems the property of learning and memory. 
     
    Remarkably, the study shows that some of the proteins involved in synapse signalling and learning and memory are found in yeast, where they act to respond to signals from their environment, such as stress due to limited food or temperature change. 
    
• 10 Jun 08
  

  Gerhard Stoltz
  • The research suggests that it is not size alone that gives more brain power, but that, during evolution, increasingly sophisticated molecular processing of nerve impulses allowed development of animals with more complex behaviours.
  • We found dramatic differences in the numbers of proteins in the neuron connections between different species".
  • Behavioural studies in animals in which mutations have disrupted synapse genes support the conclusion that the synapse proteins that evolved in vertebrates give rise to a wider range of behaviours including those involved with the highest mental functions.
  • "It is amazing how a process of Darwinian evolution by tinkering and improvement has generated, from a collection of sensory proteins in yeast, the complex synapse of mammals associated with learning and cognition,"

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