Unraveling the Function of Little-Understood Synapses in the Cerebellum

New research from Oregon Health & Science University has uncovered the function of a little-understood synapse in the brain that connects neurons to oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), which can differentiate into cells that produce myelin. This discovery could have implications for conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and glioma. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, used single-cell imaging in zebrafish to demonstrate the pivotal role of these synapses in myelin production, potentially leading to new methods of regulating OPC function to alter disease progression.