But we're now learning that this isn't the full extent of dendritic function. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill demonstrated that dendrites do more than transfer information — they also actively process information, effectively multiplying the brain’s computing power.
And like so much good science, the discovery came as a complete surprise to the researchers.
“Suddenly, it’s as if the processing power of the brain is much greater than we had originally thought,” noted study co-author Spencer Smith through a press release. “Imagine you’re reverse engineering a piece of alien technology, and what you thought was simple wiring turns out to be transistors that compute information.”
Previous research showed that dendrites use certain molecules to autonomously generate electrical spikes. But scientists weren't sure if these spikes were simply the result of normal brain activity.
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