The appearance of myelin in vertebrates would appear to have marked a turning point in the history of evolution. It would seem to have given the first hinge- jawed fish have the energy necessary to hunt and eat. This was some 425 millions of years ago. Myelin greatly increases the speed of nerve impulse transmission and increases the reflexes tenfold. Almost all vertebrates are « equipped » this way. This discovery is the result of long years of study by researchers Bernard Zalc, head of Inserm Unit 711 (Biology of Neurone-Glia Interactions), Daniel Goujet (Professor at the Natural History Museum, Paris) and their colleague David Colman (Professor at the Montreal Institute of Neurology). Their findings are published in the journal Current Biology.

To learn more, please consult the Inserm press release.