Scientists Perform Neuron-by-neuron Research in Search of Chronic Pain, Memory Loss Causes

Working with units of material so small that it would take 50,000 of them to make up one drop, scientists are developing the profiles of the contents of individual brain cells as they search for the root causes of chronic pain, memory loss and other maladies that affect millions of people.

Researchers described the latest results of this one-by-one exploration of cells or “neurons” from among the millions that exist in an animal brain at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society, during which Jonathan Sweedler, PhD, explained that knowledge of the chemistry occurring in individual brain cells would provide the insights into the causes of certain diseases and could point toward new ways of diagnosis and treatment. Until recently, scientists have not had the technology to perform neuron-by-neuron research such as this. For more information, click here to read the full release.