Summary: Axonal swelling in the Purkinje cells of mice had no detrimental impact on firing rate or the speed at which axons transmit signals. At peak firing rate, axons with swellings were less likely to fail than those without.

Source: McGill University.

Researchers at McGill University have shown that a brain cell structure previously thought to be pathological in fact enhances cells’ ability to transmit information and correlates with better learning on certain tasks.