Answer:
Nervous systems become clearly unique in their communication properties only at the tissue and organ level, where billions of cells can work together as an intricately organized interconnected circuit. It is through the organization of cells in these neural circuits that the brain supports the great diversity of animal behavior, up to and including human consciousness, cognition, and emotion.
Explanation:
Communication, the effective delivery of information, is essential for life at all scales and species. Nervous systems (by necessity) can adapt more specifically between biological tissues for the high speed and complexity of the information transmitted, and therefore, the properties of neural tissue and the principles of its circuit organization can illuminate the capabilities and limitations of biological communication. Here, we consider recent developments in tools to study neural circuits with special attention to defining neural cell types using input and output information flows, that is, how they communicate. Complementing the approaches that define cell types by virtue of the properties of the genetic promoter / enhancer, this communication-based approach to define cell types operably by the structure and function of linkages of input / output relationships (E / S), solves the difficulties associated with defining unique genetic characteristics. , leverages technology to observe and test the importance of precisely these I / O ratios in intact brains, and maps processes through which behavior can adapt during development, experience, and evolution.
