Dr. Stephen Smith, Stanford University
One neuron may make as many as tens of thousands of synaptic contacts with other neurons, said Stephen Smith, PhD, professor of molecular and cellular physiology and senior author of a paper , published Nov. 18 in Neuron. Smith is a professor at Stanford university.
Stephen Smith developed a quick, accurate method of locating and counting the millions of synapses in the brain. Smith said this about mouse brain tissue:
Observed in this manner, the brain’s overall complexity is almost beyond belief, One synapse, by itself, is more like a microprocessor —with both memory-storage and information-processing elements — than a mere on/off switch.
In fact, one synapse may contain on the order of 1,000 molecular-scale switches. A single human brain has more switches than all the computers and routers and Internet connections on Earth,” he said.
Rightardia found an article about this study on Dangerous Intersection. Check out the Sanford University hyperlink for a video of the array-tomography of the synapses in the mouse somatosensory cortex.It is amazing!
Source: http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2010/november/neuron-imaging.html
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