While other species have impressive abilities adapted to their unique environments, human cognitive competency remains unparalleled in scope and sophistication. Humans can think abstractly, imagine, create complex systems, use different languages, and engage in self-awareness, foresight, planning, and decision-making. How do humans acquire these complex abilities? The human cerebral cortex provides the structural basis for this unique potential.
Neuronal networks in the cerebral cortex comprise excitatory neurons (pyramidal cells) and inhibitory neurons (interneurons). Interneurons are critical for cortical function because they fine-tune and synchronise the activity of pyramidal cells. Although the diversity of interneurons in the human cortex is similar to other mammals, recent studies have shown that human interneurons' relative abundance and synaptic connectivity are markedly different. However, the rules governing the wiring of interneurons in the developing human cortex remain unknown.Professor Beatriz Rico has been awarded with a competitive Wellcome Discovery award to investigate how cortical inhibitory circuits emerge in the human cerebral cortex.
Beatriz Rico's quote:
"Cognitive function in humans is sustained by a precise repertoire of brain connections that reach its highest complexity in the cerebral cortex. While we have made progress in understanding the correlation between genes and circuit development and function in other species, we still know nothing about how human synapses develop despite being hot spots for neurodevelopmental disorders. We cannot treat successfully what we do not know. I am delighted and grateful to Wellcome for awarding us a Wellcome Discovery grant, which will enable us to uncover insights into the emergence of human circuits over the next eight years.”