MouseLight Neuron AA0098

fully-traced neurons in the mouse brain by a factor of 10. Researchers can now download and browse the data in three dimensions. Inside the mouse brain, individual neurons zigzag across hemispheres, embroider branching patterns and, researchers have now discovered, can even spool out spindly fibers up to 45 centimeters long.Scientists can see and explore these wandering neural traces in 3-D in the most detailed map of mouse brain wiring yet created. The map reconstructs the shape and position of more than 300 of the 70 million neurons in the mouse brain. Previous efforts to trace the path of individual neurons had topped out in the dozens. The selectively-labeled neurons were mapped in an iterative process with two-photon microscopy. The brain is sliced in 200-micron sections and a few dozen neurons are labeled at a time and imaged. Each brain imaged yields about 50 terabytes of data, each containing mapped neurons which can be browsed via the NeuronBrowser application. Researchers interested in the complete raw data set should contact Janelia to discuss obtaining it via hardware transfer.

本数据集将小鼠大脑中可完整追踪的神经元数量提升了一个数量级。研究人员现已可下载并三维浏览该数据集。研究人员发现，小鼠大脑内的单个神经元可在左右脑半球间蜿蜒穿行，形成精巧的分支结构，甚至能延伸出长达45厘米的细长神经纤维。此次构建的小鼠大脑神经连接图谱为目前已发表的最精细版本，科研人员可在此三维视图中观察并探索这些蜿蜒的神经轨迹。该图谱重构了小鼠大脑7000万神经元中超过300个的形态与位置信息。此前同类研究中，可完整追踪的单个神经元数量最多仅为数十个。研究人员通过双光子显微镜（two-photon microscopy）的迭代成像流程，对选择性标记的神经元进行了测绘。实验中将大脑切割为200微米的脑片，每次对数十个神经元进行标记并成像。每枚成像的大脑可产生约50太字节（terabyte）的数据，其中包含可通过神经元浏览器（NeuronBrowser）应用程序浏览的已测绘神经元信息。如需获取完整原始数据集的研究人员，请联系珍妮亚研究院（Janelia），通过硬件传输的方式洽谈获取事宜。