A team of researchers from the Neuroimmunology Unit, led by Professor Gianvito Martino, neurologist, neuroscientist, and scientific director of San Raffaele Research Hospital, signs a new study on Nature Communication that adds an important element to the definition of the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the brain circuits that underlie our ability to think and to decide. Today we know the brain areas involved in the mental decision-making process, but little is known about the cells and molecules involved in the decision-making process. The study of San Raffaele, which was conducted on an experimental model, identifies a population of brain cells - the periventricular stem cells - and a protein secreted from them - insulin-like growth factor binding protein-like 1 (IGFBPL1); the lack of such a protein would make it less able to decide, in other words it would make individuals more hesitant. In addition, the study shows a correlation between people with multiple sclerosis, who have cognitive disorders such as difficulty in processing information, and the presence of brain lesions due to the disease precisely in the periventricular area where the IGFBPL1-producing stem cells are present.
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