Neuronal cell type for controlling the flow of information in the brain

Researchers have identified specific cells that regulate the transmission of information between brain areas. This discovery forms the basis for developing new treatment options for neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by impaired coordination of information flow in the brain.

A scientific team from MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research has now identified specific cells that regulate the transmission of information between brain areas. This discovery forms the basis for the development of new treatment options for neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and autism, which are characterised by impaired coordination of information flow in the brain. The study has now been published in the top journal Science.

The scientists focused their basic research on the question of how communication between different brain areas is regulated and how the constantly changing streams of information from different sources can be processed without errors. Ece Sakalar, Thomas Klausberger and Balint Lasztoczi from the Division of Cognitive Neurobiology at MedUni Vienna's Center for Brain Research sought and found answers in the so-called CA1 area of the hippocampus, a central switchboard in the brain. There, the so-called neuroglia form cells cause the converging information about the current environment and also about relevant past experiences to be combined without being mixed up.

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