Neurotransmitter-Molekül Foto: MPI-EM

Regulation of signal transmission in nerve cells

The approximately 100 billion nerve cells of our brain are amazing marvels of biology. In many brain areas, the number of signals exchanged between nerve cells varies depending on activity from just a few to over 100 per second. Some nerve cells can even transmit over 1000 signals per second – and often persistently over long periods of time. How such fatigue-free signal transmission is made possible was questionable for a long time. A team around MBExC member Nils Brose at the Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, has now found a possible answer.

Link to the MPI-EM press release (in German)