I was recently thinking about inhibition in the brain, which brought me to think about the multitude of different types of inhibitory neurons. The one pictured above is a Chandelier Cell. I think you can guess why it is called such (since it looks like a chandelier). I think it’s one of the prettiest inhibitory neurons in the brain, but that is of course, my opinion. Inhibitory neurons work most often by releasing the neurotransmitter GABA onto another neuron. GABA often opens chloride (Cl-) channels that hyperpolarize the neuron. When the membrane is hyperpolarized, it is much less likely to fire an action potential and send its signal on to the next neuron. Inhibition can essentially prohibit the signal transfer. (Note: This explanation is simplified, but that is the general idea.) Different inhibitory neurons can do this in different ways. Chandelier cells have those ends that look kind of like candles. Those are often wrapped around the axons of other neurons. By applying GABA on the axon of another neuron, the chandelier cell has a much better chance of stopping the action potential (than if they were connecting to the other neuron’s dendrites for example). What is also interesting is that chandelier cells are much more prevalent early in life, as they are a more primitive form of inhibition. As the brain develops, it uses less chandelier cells and more basket cells and other inhibitory neurons that are more sophisticated in their actions. Incorrect functioning of these may be implicated in schizophrenia and autism, among other disorders. [Click through image for source]

I was recently thinking about inhibition in the brain, which brought me to think about the multitude of different types of inhibitory neurons. The one pictured above is a Chandelier Cell. I think you can guess why it is called such (since it looks like a chandelier). I think it’s one of the prettiest inhibitory neurons in the brain, but that is of course, my opinion.

Inhibitory neurons work most often by releasing the neurotransmitter GABA onto another neuron. GABA often opens chloride (Cl-) channels that hyperpolarize the neuron. When the membrane is hyperpolarized, it is much less likely to fire an action potential and send its signal on to the next neuron. Inhibition can essentially prohibit the signal transfer. (Note: This explanation is simplified, but that is the general idea.)

Different inhibitory neurons can do this in different ways. Chandelier cells have those ends that look kind of like candles. Those are often wrapped around the axons of other neurons. By applying GABA on the axon of another neuron, the chandelier cell has a much better chance of stopping the action potential (than if they were connecting to the other neuron’s dendrites for example). What is also interesting is that chandelier cells are much more prevalent early in life, as they are a more primitive form of inhibition. As the brain develops, it uses less chandelier cells and more basket cells and other inhibitory neurons that are more sophisticated in their actions. Incorrect functioning of these may be implicated in schizophrenia and autism, among other disorders.

[Click through image for source]