Mansvelder Lab

Research focus

ERC Advanced Grant · 2022

A novel theory of human cortical microcircuit function: Dedicated neuronal networks for fast cellular and synaptic computation

How human neuronal circuits are organized to produce human cognition is poorly understood. We recently showed (Nature, 2021) that human neocortex contains neuron types not found in other mammals. My preliminary data show that large, human-specialized transcriptomically-defined cell types (t-types) have surprisingly fast processing of synaptic input to action potential output properties. Other human t-types show much slower input-output properties more akin to average mammalian neurons. These fast human-specialized t-types are selectively vulnerable in prevalent human brain disorders with cognitive decline. Mechanisms of fast input-output processing are unknown. We also do not know whether…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.