Highly detailed 3-D brain image unveiled

http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/imaging/bigbrain-project-makes-terabyte-map-of-a-human-brain

Canadian and German neuroscientists have unveiled the most detailed 3-D image of the human brain to date.  It reveals structures as tiny as 20 microns, 50 times smaller than those created using the best MRI technology.  The image, created as part of a project called the BigBrain, is part of a larger effort to create a high-resolution computer model of the human brain that can serve as a reference point for future studies.  Data from other studies can be combined with this model to allow scientists to link brain function to specific groups of nerve cells.  The information can be used to test theories about brain activity and lead to treatments for diseases.  Until now, brain scans used MRI and PET technology, which can only capture structures as small as a millimeter. This had not been enough to understand what happens when a person gets Alzheimer’s disease or epilepsy.


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