It’s a huge understatement to say that the human brain is complex: One hundred billion neurons are spread out across its network designed to communicate millions of messages per second, all working together to keep our body functioning the way we want it to.
Biological processes behind neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, however, prevent important messages from reaching their destinations, which, in turn, can lead to troublesome symptoms for patients. In Parkinson’s, for example, a lack of functioning dopamine neurons in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra make it difficult for the brain to tell the body to move.
Scientists have long been hard at work to develop new ways to visualize, and better understand, the brain’s incredibly intricate network. But, despite significant advances in the field, the human brain remains one of the great mysteries of science.
This week, a team of researchers at Stanford University unveiled a new technique that could help to unlock some of the mystery: They’ve developed a way to turn brain tissue transparent, providing a three-dimensional view of these so-called neural networks, and making it easier and more accurate to analyze how these networks work, or, in the case of disease, how they might be malfunctioning.
Nature magazine reporter Helen Shen explains:
Existing technology allows scientists to see neurons and their connections in microscopic detail — but only across tiny slivers of tissue. Researchers must reconstruct three-dimensional data from images of these thin slices. Aligning hundreds or even thousands of these snapshots to map long-range projections of nerve cells is laborious and error-prone, rendering fine-grain analysis of whole brains practically impossible.
But the new Stanford technique allows scientists to see through large blocks of tissue at once, by employing a chemical called sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), which is normally used in laundry detergents, to make the brain transparent. “You can get right down to the fine structure of the system while not losing the big picture,” study lead Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD, told the magazine. The study team used SDS on both pre-clinical brains and human autopsied brains.
Scientists interviewed by Shen suggest that the technique, called CLARITY, could help to “pave the way for studies on healthy brain wiring, and on brain disorders and ageing.”
A better understanding of the brain’s network is a hot topic of late: MJFF CEO Todd Sherer, PhD, was at the White House earlier this month, as President Obama recently announced a new initiative to try to map the human brain. Sherer offered a statement of support for the initiative, which is planned to launch in 2014 with a starting investment of $100 million.