How neurons talk to their neighbours

You probably don’t think of yourself as a collection of almost 100 billion neurons—but without those neurons, there’s no “you.” Those neurons, or nerve cells, don’t just sit around; for your brain and nervous system to function, they have to communicate with one another. Think of an old-fashioned “bucket brigade” in which one firefighter passes a bucket of water to an adjacent person, and they pass it to the next person, and so on. Now think of the neurons in your brain as tiny firefighters, each trying to pass an electrical signal along to a neighbour. How, exactly, are those signals transmitted? “We want to learn how the neurons talk to each other,” says Na Yu, a Professor in the Department of Mathematics.

Yu, an expert in mathematical biology, uses the tools of mathematics to model the biological processes behind neuronal signalling. She’s particularly interested in the role of “noise.” Yu uses the term the way an electrical engineer might use it—think of the background static that makes it hard to tune in to a weak AM station on your radio. But there’s a crucial difference: To an engineer, noise is an obstacle to be overcome; but in a network of neurons, noise can actually boost signal transmission. This is particularly evident in a signalling process called “synchronization,” in which one neuron’s activity matches up with that of its neighbour. “Noise has been shown to help to promote this synchronization, and therefore promote signal transmission,” says Yu.

Yu’s research could shed light on some of the most challenging problems in health and medicine, including the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.