Is calcium boost behind brain zap effects?

• Autores: Sally Adee
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3067, 2016, pág. 10
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been linked to effects such as accelerated learning and improving the symptoms of depression. It involves using electrodes to send a weak current across the brain, which proponents think changes the electrical properties of neurons, leading to changes in their connectivity. But the cellular mechanisms that lead to such broad neurological changes aren't clear and some are doubtful that tDCS has any effect on the brain. Now Hajime Hirase at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Tokyo, Japan, and his colleagues have identified sudden surges in calcium flow in the brains of mice seconds after they receive low doses of tDCS. The surges start in star-shaped cells called astrocytes that strengthen connections between neurons and regulate the electrical signals that pass between them.