Curiosity
How many neurons do we have? A Brazilian scientist counted
For decades it was repeated that the brain had 100 billion neurons. Neuroscientist Suzana Herculano-Houzel measured it: about 86 billion.
At UFRJ, Suzana Herculano-Houzel and her team created an ingenious method: dissolving brain tissue into a “soup” of cell nuclei that can be counted precisely. The result, published in 2009, was about 86 billion neurons in the human brain.
The same work overturned another myth: that there were ten glial cells for every neuron. The ratio is much closer to one to one.
Glial cells — such as astrocytes and oligodendrocytes — are not just “support”: they take an active part in brain function and are also studied in mental disorders.
