![]() ![]() The system of interconnections almost defies comprehension.Īdd in underlying genetics, environmental variables that can have significant effects, and human behaviors that are both derived from neural circuits and can also affect their future function, and the subject becomes even more complex. In young children, before synaptic pruning begins in earnest, the estimated number reaches as high as 1 quadrillion. That puts the synapse count in the neighborhood of 600 trillion. Each neuron has, on average, about 7,000 synaptic connections with other neurons. There’s the numerical equivalent of a smallish galaxy in each of our skulls.īut that’s not all. Our brains contain about 100 billion neurons.* So you get the idea. Why? Well, our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is pretty big as galaxies go, containing 250 billion stars, give or take 100 billion or so. Neuroscience always makes me think of astrophysics. But scientists are using new capabilities to create more accurate, more useful research tools, bringing new hope for progress and better outcomes for patients. Late-onset Alzheimer’s disease is extremely difficult to model in the laboratory, one reason why no successful therapy for it exists.
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