Apr. 11,
2013 — A new study by scientists at King's College London and the
University of Arizona (UA) published in Science reveals the deep
similarities in how the brain regulates behaviour in arthropods (such as flies
and crabs) and vertebrates (such as fish, mice and humans). The findings shed
new light on the evolution of the brain and behaviour and may aid understanding
of disease mechanisms underlying mental health problems.
Based on their
own findings and available literature, Dr Frank Hirth (King's) and Dr Nicholas
Strausfeld (UA) compared the development and function of the central brain
regions in arthropods (the 'central complex') and vertebrates (the 'basal
ganglia').
Research
suggests that both brain structures derive from embryonic stem cells at the
base of the developing forebrain and that, despite the major differences
between species, their respective constitutions and specifications derive from
similar genetic programmes.
The authors
describe that nerve cells in the central complex and the basal ganglia become
inter-connected and communicate with each other in similar ways, facilitating
the regulation of adaptive behaviours. In other words, the response of a fly or
a mouse to internal stimuli such as hunger or sleep, and external stimuli such
as light/dark or temperature, are regulated by similar neural mechanisms.
Dr Hirth from
King's College London Institute of Psychiatry says: "Flies, crabs, mice,
humans: all experience hunger, need sleep and have a preference for a comfortable
temperature so we speculated there must be a similar mechanism regulating these
behaviours. We were amazed to find just how deep the similarities go, despite
the differences in size and appearance of these species and their brains."
Dr Strausfeld,
a Regents Professor in the UA's Department of Neuroscience and the Director of
the UA's Center for Insect Science, says: "When you compare the two
structures, you find that they are very similar in terms of how they're
organized. Their development is orchestrated by a whole suite of genes that are
homologous between flies and mice, and the behavioral deficits resulting from
disturbances in the two systems are remarkably similar as well."
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