How to Build a Human (Part 1)

We humans like to think of ourselves as pretty different from other animals. Language, philosophy, art, technology - we do things it seems like no other animal is capable of. But what makes us this way? In part one of our investigation, we focus on two features of the brain that seem to be particular to people. We start with Arnold Kriegstein of the University of California, San Francisco, who studies a type of stem cell that does something special during human brain development. We then turn to Kira Poskanzer and Anna Molofsky, also of UCSF, who believe the secret to human-ness might lie with a totally different, often neglected kind of brain cell.

The meninges help the brain develop: Sam Pleasure

In this week’s session, we learn about the meninges. These are the membranes that cover and protect our central nervous system (our brains and spinal cords). More specifically, we learn from Dr. Sam Pleasure that the meninges may also help our brains develop. He also describes the role of two brain regions that his work focuses on: the hippocampus and the neocortex.

More on the Pleasure Lab's research