Identification of tunnels connecting neurons in the developing brain

More than a century after the discovery of the neuron by neuroanatomist Santiago Ramón y Cajal, scientists are constantly deepening their knowledge about the brain and its development. In an article published recently in Science Advances, a team from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, in collaboration with Harvard University, revealed novel insights into the way in which cells in the outer layers of the brain interact directly after birth during formation of the cerebellum, the brain region at the base of the skull. The scientists demonstrated a novel type of connection between neural precursor cells via nanoscopic tunnels, prior to the emergence of synapses, the conventional junctions between neurons.

Find out more (in French)