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New neurons in songbirds behave like \u201cexplorers forging a path through a dense jungle. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\nSummary: The tiny zebra finch is a vocal learning champion, but its most shocking talent happens deep inside its gray matter. Researchers have discovered that when these birds grow new neurons, the cells don\u2019t \u201cpolitely\u201d navigate around existing structures.<\/p>\n
Instead, they tunnel directly through mature brain tissue, squishing and shoving established cells aside to reach their destination. This disruptive behavior may explain why humans evolved to stop making new neurons after birth, to protect our precious existing memories from being \u201cbulldozed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Key Findings<\/p>\n
Evolutionary Protection: The study proposes that humans may have traded the ability to grow new brain cells for the stability of memory. By \u201clocking\u201d our brain version at 1.0, we prevent new cells from damaging our established knowledge.Metastatic Parallel: The researchers noted that this specific \u201ccell tunneling\u201d behavior is also seen in some metastatic cancer cells, suggesting a shared biological mechanism for aggressive cellular movement.Stem-Cell Hope: Because these neurons don\u2019t need glial highways, it opens the door for future stem-cell therapies in humans. If we can trigger neurogenesis, we might not need to \u201crebuild\u201d the highways first.Repair vs. Memory: The finch brain is a constant \u201crefresh\u201d cycle. This helps them recover from injury but raises questions about how much \u201cold\u201d information is lost every time a \u201cnew\u201d neuron tunnels through.<\/p>\n
Source: Boston University<\/p>\n
Despite its small size, it could sit in the palm of your hand, the zebra finch is a remarkable learner. A songbird native to Australia, it\u2019s renowned for its ability to pick up new songs.<\/p>\n
That talent has made it a favorite of scientists studying how animal brains imprint new skills, particularly vocal learning, or the capacity to perfect new sounds. And now researchers at Boston University have discovered another quirk to the zebra finch brain\u2014one that could also have implications for understanding our own gray matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
New neurons in songbirds behave like \u201cexplorers forging a path through a dense jungle. Credit: Neuroscience News<\/p>\n
In a study that looked at the bird\u2019s brain in unprecedented detail, they uncovered new insights into a mechanism known as neurogenesis, the birth, migration, and maturation of neurons, which may help the brain learn, add new skills, and restore and repair itself.<\/p>\n
Observing the finch brain using a high-powered microscope, the researchers watched as new neurons bullied their way through the brain en route to bolstering existing circuits and connections.<\/p>\n
They\u2019d expected the neurons to gingerly step around established brain structures, including more mature brain cells, to better preserve them; instead, they saw them tunnel right through, squishing and shoving as they went.<\/p>\n
According to the BU-led team, their findings could help explain human vulnerability to a range of brain disorders. They also noted that cell tunneling is used by some metastatic cancer cells.<\/p>\n
The findings were published in Current Biology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found that in songbirds, new neurons in the adult brain behave like explorers forging a path through a dense jungle,\u201d says\u00a0Benjamin Scott, a BU College of Arts & Sciences assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences and the study\u2019s corresponding author.<\/p>\n
That may help them learn new things or repair damage, but it could come with a cost to existing cells and memories\u2014and that might be why neurogenesis is a skill humans don\u2019t seem to have beyond the womb.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis potentially disruptive behavior may help explain why humans and other mammals have limited capacity to regenerate brain tissue in adulthood,\u201d says Scott, \u201cleaving us more vulnerable to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tunneling Neurons<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re born, your brain pretty much has all the neurons it\u2019s ever going to have. Other organs\u2014from your skin to your heart\u2014might get frequent cell updates, but the brain is working on version 1.0.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s true for most mammals, but not fish, reptiles, and birds\u2014their brains get a regular refresh.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis raises two questions,\u201d says Scott, who\u2019s also affiliated with BU\u2019s centers for neurophotonics, photonics, and systems neuroscience. \u201cWhy do other species have high rates of neurogenesis throughout life and why is it so restricted in humans? And is there something we can learn from their biology that we might be able to harness in future?\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott typically studies the neural circuits that control behavior in humans and other mammals, but chose the zebra finch to investigate neurogenesis because it has a reputation as a champion species\u2014it\u2019s really good at generating new neurons.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applied a new tool to study this process [neurogenesis] called electron microscopy-based connectomics\u2014basically a really high-powered microscope\u2014to image these cells at a very high resolution,\u201d says Scott. \u201cOur first hope was just to say, what does this look like at a detail we couldn\u2019t see before?\u201d Instead, they spotted the tunneling neurons.<\/p>\n
If these new neurons are deforming brain tissue, says Scott, are they also disrupting memories along the way? And, if neurogenesis comes with a cost, how does that balance against the brain\u2019s capacity for learning new things and repairing after injury?<\/p>\n
Scott has two\u2014as yet untested\u2014hypotheses for what the findings might mean for the human brain. The first is that our brains evolved to limit neurogenesis after birth as a form of protection\u2014a way of making sure determined neurons couldn\u2019t barge through mature connections and damage memory storage.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is an alternative framing that is more optimistic,\u201d he says. \u201cOur discovery of tunneling shows how cells can move without glia scaffolds.\u201d These are the structures that operate as highways for migrating neurons.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost glia scaffolds are lost in humans after birth, and this loss was thought to be an obstacle for neurogenesis in the adult brain,\u201d says Scott.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, our work shows that new neurons in the bird do not need this glia scaffold. This is exciting because it means that brain repair may not require specialized glia scaffolds.\u201d<\/p>\n
That opens the door for scientists to explore potential stem-cell therapies that would spark neurogenesis in humans.<\/p>\n
Next: Figuring Out the How and Why of Neurogenesis<\/p>\n
In current studies, Scott and the team in his\u00a0BU Laboratory of Comparative Cognition\u00a0are digging into the biology driving neurogenesis to uncover which genes are regulating the process. Much of the work merges ideas and tools from biomedical engineering and neuroethology, the study of the mechanisms underpinning animal behavior.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now, we\u2019re using a technique called single-cell RNA sequencing to identify genes that are expressed by these new neurons as they migrate,\u201d says Scott. \u201cWe want to know what other cells they\u2019re talking to as they move and how they are speaking to these different cells.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019ll help them figure out whether neurons warn other cells they\u2019re travelling through and how they know where to stop and integrate with a current circuit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe share a lot with our animal relatives on this planet,\u201d says Scott. And, while the term \u201cbird brain\u201d might be an insult, by learning more about the biology of songbird brains, he says, we could learn some remarkable things about our own.<\/p>\n
Funding: This research was funded with support from the BU Neurophotonics Center. The study also included researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, United Kingdom, and the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Germany.<\/p>\n
Key Questions Answered:Q: Does this mean growing new brain cells is actually bad for you?<\/p>\n
A: It\u2019s a trade-off. In birds, it\u2019s great for learning new skills and repairing damage. But in humans, where our survival depends on complex, decades-long memories, having new neurons \u201cplowing through\u201d those connections might cause more harm than good.<\/p>\n
Q: If birds can do it, why can\u2019t we just \u201cturn on\u201d this skill to cure Alzheimer\u2019s?<\/p>\n
A: That\u2019s the goal! Now that we know neurons don\u2019t need \u201cglial scaffolds\u201d to move, scientists can look for the specific genes that tell a cell to \u201cstart tunneling.\u201d If we can control it, we might be able to repair brain damage without disrupting memories.<\/p>\n
Q: Is a \u201cbird brain\u201d actually smarter than a human brain in this one way?<\/p>\n
A: In terms of regeneration, yes. Birds, reptiles, and fish are \u201cVersion 2.0\u201d brains, they get regular updates. Humans are \u201cVersion 1.0\u201d, we have to make what we\u2019re born with last a lifetime.<\/p>\n
Editorial Notes:This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor.Journal paper reviewed in full.Additional context added by our staff.About this neurogenesis research news<\/p>\n
Author:\u00a0Jennifer Rosenberg<\/a>
Source:\u00a0Boston University<\/a>
Contact:\u00a0Jennifer Rosenberg \u2013 Boston University
Image:\u00a0The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n