Have you ever wondered why scientists conduct experiments on rodents during clinical trials? Scientists claim that rodents resemble humans in terms of genetics. Scientists from the Allen Institute for Brain Science were focussing their research work to find out which specific brain cells are present in humans but not in rodents. The motive behind this discovery is to find a clue which might further lead to the treatment for neurological disorders.

The research team along with a team from the University of Szeged in Hungary used brain samples from two dead men who donated their bodies for research work. It’s emotions and consciousness that differentiate humans from other animals. Considering this point, the team focussed their work on the outer part of the brain, the cortex region, which controls the consciousness.  

The scientists discovered particular cells in the human brain which is absent in other animals. These specific cells are called ‘rosehip neurons’, otherwise termed as inhibitory neurons, since they inhibit the activity of other neurons. This study was published in the journal named Nature Neuroscience.

Scientists are yet to discover the function of rosehip neurons in humans but they claim that since they are interconnected with other neurons, the rosehip neurons should be involved in the flow of information. The next step is to check whether rosehip neurons are present in any other region. Next, the scientists are eager to detect the role of these inhibitory neurons in neurological diseases.