The Endorestiform Nucleus is located near the junction of the brain and the spinal cord(Credit: NeuRA)
Posted on 11/24/2018 9:55:34 AM PST by ETL
The newly-discovered region, named the endorestiform nucleus, is located within the inferior cerebellar peduncle, an area that integrates sensory and motor information to refine our posture, balance and fine motor movements.
Professor Paxinos suspected its existence three decades ago but has only now been able to see it due to better staining and imaging techniques.
“The endorestiform nucleus is intriguing because it seems to be absent in the rhesus monkey and other animals that we have studied,” Professor Paxinos said.
“This region could be what makes humans unique besides our larger brain size.”
“I can only guess as to its function, but given the part of the brain where it has been found, it might be involved in fine motor control,” he added.
The discovery of the region is detailed in Professor Paxinos’ latest book titled ‘Human Brainstem: Cytoarchitecture, Chemoarchitecture, Myeloarchitecture.’
It may help researchers explore cures for diseases including Parkinson’s disease and motor neuron disease.
Neuroscientists researching neurological or psychiatric diseases use Professor Paxinos’ maps to guide their work.
Professor Paxinos’ brain atlases are heralded as the most accurate for the identification of brain structures and are also used in neurosurgery.
“Professor Paxinos’ atlases showing detailed morphology and connections of the human brain and spinal cord, provide a critical framework for researchers to test hypotheses from synaptic function to treatments for diseases of the brain,” said Professor Peter Schofield, CEO at Neuroscience Research Australia.
(Excerpt) Read more at sci-news.com ...
Michio Kaku calls the brain “the most complicated object in the known universe.” So, despite plenty of study, maybe it’s not a total surprise that we’re still finding new parts of it. After decades of mapping the brains of humans and other mammals, and publishing a multitude of books and journal articles on the subject, Professor George Paxinos AO (Order of Australia) has discovered a new region of the human brain that he says could be part of what makes us unique.
Professor Paxinos is a world-renowned brain cartographer, with his brain atlases essential resources for neuroscientists the world over. Now working at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), his mapping efforts have uncovered a new region of the brain that he has named the Endorestiform Nucleus. Although he had suspected the existence of this previously hidden area for 30 years, it is only thanks to the superior staining and imaging techniques available today that it has been revealed.
The function of the Endorestiform Nucleus is still unknown, but it is located near the junction of the brain and the spinal cord within the inferior cerebellar peduncle, an area that combines sensory and motor information to refine our balance, posture and fine motor control. For this reason, Professor Paxinos theorizes the new region could play a part in fine motor movements, and could aid in the search for treatments for diseases such as Parkinson’s and motor neuron disease.
And so far, the Endorestiform Nucleus appears to be unique to humans.
“The region is intriguing because it seems to be absent in the rhesus monkey and other animals that we have studied,” says Professor Paxinos, adding, “this region could be what makes humans unique besides our larger brain size.”
However, Professor Paxinos hasn’t yet studied a chimpanzee brain to discover whether our closest living relatives also have this newly discovered region, but this is something he plans to do in the coming months.
Professor Paxinos details the discovery of the Endorestiform Nucleus in his latest book, Human Brainstem: Cytoarchitecture, Chemoarchitecture, Myeloarchitecture, which will be available to order this month, and you can hear him discuss the discovery in the video below.
https://newatlas.com/human-brain-new-region-discovery/57365/
My cerebellar peduncle is just fine, thank you very much.
This sort of stuff is why I sigh when I hear people say we're going to suck the contents of the brain into cyber-space. We don't even know how it works yet.
If this is true, discovering a cure for Parkinson’s may soon occur.
Awww sheet! That means that Hellary may run in 2020...
...and 2024...
...and 2028...
And the best that would happen is that there would be a copy of a person's thoughts and memories in cyberspace. It would *not* be a ticket to immortality, as some science fiction writers have imagined.
It wasn’t hidden. You just didn’t know enough to look for it.
I think it’s for video games.
Same way I sigh when I hear someone talking about AI. It does not exist and probably never will. But people act as if it is hear or just around the corner.
People keep on thinking we have it all figured out. We don't even know enough to ask the right questions yet.
Thanks ETL. It's the part that gets Excedrin headaches.
Did you read the article? Always a good idea to do that before commenting.
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