What marsupials can teach us about brain development

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Lead author Dr Rodrigo Suárez, from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute and School of Biomedical Sciences, said the finding could lead to a better understanding of brain patterns related to neurodevelopmental conditions such as spectrum disorder. autistic (ASD).

“Marsupials are mammals that are born at extremely early stages, the equivalent of half gestation in human terms,” ​​said Dr. Suárez.

“Most of marsupial brain development occurs after birth, inside the mother’s pouch.

“Because of this, we have been able to study patterns of neural activity in Australia’s native fat-tailed dunnart and found that they are similar to those in the human brain in utero.”

The research used light indicators to record the electrical activity of neurons in marsupial joeys.

“We follow the initiation and maturation of complex activity patterns, using advanced microscopy to read how Joey’s developing brain cells first communicate,” said Dr. Suárez.

“There were distinct patterns early on that indicated not only that neural activity begins before sensory experience, but that unique electrical characteristics in newborn cells could be crucial for the establishment of healthy brain connections.

“Similarly, subtle defects in these patterns could lead to neurodevelopmental conditions like ASD.”

Dr. Suárez said it was well established that human babies respond to stimulation long before birth.

“But exactly when, where and how electrical activity begins in the developing brain is largely unknown,” he said.

“This is mainly because only mammals have evolved a cerebral cortex, the wrinkled surface of our brain that controls sensory, motor and cognitive tasks, and most experimental models cannot survive at such early stages outside the womb.” .

Dr. Suárez said that studying marsupials could help researchers go further back in brain evolution.

“These findings highlight early processes of brain development that arose millions of years ago and continue with little change, likely influencing the evolution and diversification of the cerebral cortex.”