Hidden Variations in Neuronal Networks Might Account for Differences in Traumatic Brain Injury Outco

What is it about?

Differences in the properties of neural circuits determine whether an individual is susceptible to brain injury. A unique research animal, a sea slug called Tritonia diomedea, was used to study this question. Unlike humans, Tritonia has a small number of neurons and its behavior is simple. Despite this simplicity, the animals varied in how neurons were connected together. This variability determined whether the behavior would be impaired upon injury although it had no effect normally.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This study is important in light of the current Obama BRAIN initiative, which seeks to map all of the connections in the human brain; it shows that even in a simple brain, small differences that have no effect under normal conditions, have major implications when the nervous system is challenged by injury or trauma. People vary in responses to stroke and trauma, impeding the ability to predict patient outcomes. Future treatments must take into account hidden variability.