When a synapse is not just a synapse

In new findings, not only are human synapses far different from, say, invertebrates, synapse within the human brain are quite different from one another.

I’ve felt for quite some time that modern neuroscience and cognitive science were, at best, in something like the Chalcolithic, if not the Neolithic period of discovery. Now, that’s still far ahead of the Paleolithic, but far away from the Iron Age, let alone the Age of Steel or beyond.

Vertebrate synapses have about 1,000 different proteins, assembled into 13 molecular machines, one of which is built from 183 different proteins.

These synapses are not standard throughout the brain, Dr. Grant’s group has found; each region uses different combinations of the 1,000 proteins to fashion its own custom-made synapses.

This shows just how far we have to go in learning how the human brain works. And, what an exciting journey it’s going to be.