Neuron research leads to the discovery of a nerve cell’s internal clock

Canadian researchers at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) have recently discovered more about the workings of a nerve cell’s internal clock, which is important during embryonic development.

Research into the control of neurons, the nerve cells which make up the brain and spinal cord nervous system, was conducted in order to determine how neurons end up in the correct location. It was found out that in order to form this important cell system, the axons – long extended forms on neurons which form the nerves – rely on external signals to reach the right destination.

Nerve cells were shown to have an internal clock which alters the reaction to the external indicators as time passes, in an experiment involving a protein vital to the growth of the nervous system. The study, published in the scientific journal Neuron, showed that at first, axons follow this protein which direct it to the right location. Once it reaches the protein however, the internal clock switches its response to the external signals; axons stop following and instead are repelled and so the axon and neuron remain in position.

The existence of this internal control mechanism offers exciting potential for targeting cell repair within the nervous system; as well as looking at the impact of external factors, perhaps now the possibilities of altering cell behaviour via this control system can start to be investigated.