In a groundbreaking achievement, Harvard and Google researchers have created the largest 3D brain reconstruction to date, showcasing a detailed map of a piece of temporal cortex about half the size of a rice grain. This remarkable feat, which involved mapping 57,000 cells, 230 millimeters of blood vessels, and 150 million synapses, resulted in a staggering 1,400 terabytes of data.
The study, published in Science, is the culmination of nearly a decade of collaboration between Harvard and Google scientists. The team, led by Jeff Lichtman, the Jeremy R. Knowles Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and newly appointed dean of science, aims to create a comprehensive, high-resolution map of a mouse’s neural wiring, which would entail about 1,000 times the amount of data the group just produced from the 1-cubic-millimeter fragment of human cortex.
The Latest Findings
The latest map contains never-before-seen details of brain structure, including a rare but powerful set of axons connected by up to 50 synapses. The team also noted oddities in the tissue, such as a small number of axons that formed extensive whorls.