Cilia Behaviour

Our brains are bathed in a swirling sea of cerebrospinal fluid. Chemicals flow through passages called ventricles, sweeping towards important brain areas where they control our thoughts, actions and behaviours. This map shows currents moving in the third ventricle of a pig’s brain, where chemicals flow around the hypothalamus. Obviously the brain is a 3D organ, but flattened out here it looks a bit like a weather chart – colours show chemicals moving in different directions, revealing a complex pattern. Along the walls of the ventricles, hair-like cells called cilia sway back and forth to create these currents. Investigating how and when cilia change direction might reveal how shifting patterns of cerebrospinal fluid control the human hypothalamus and with it our sleep cycles and feeding patterns.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Regina Faubel and colleagues
• Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
• Image reprinted with permission from AAAS
• Published in Science, July 2016