Friday, November 09, 2007


The Beautiful Color of Neurons

Scientists have developed a new way to map the structure of the brain. They have genetically altered neurons in mice so that they can trace each neuron when it fires. They did this by extracting genes from coral and jellyfish which make glowing proteins, and then inserting them into the mice. When a mouse has a thought the glowing proteins spread across the neural network. The mouse is then euthanized and its nervous system sliced into viewable portions. These portions are analyzed with a confocal microscope under different lasers creating fluorescent images. These images are affectionately called "Brainbows" by Dr. Jeff Lichtman of Harvard University.

In the images each neuron shows a different shade of color allowing signals to be traced through the brain. This allows the researchers to map the neuronal traffic through the brain. Understanding this neuronal map and its different connections will hopefully provide a deeper understanding of behavioral disorders that may stem from erroneous "wiring" in the neural network.

I imagine that this will also allow for a deeper understanding of animal behavior and the neuronal process that occurs under different situations. This could be a great leap over studies which have only been able to look at a relatively small amount of neurons at a time, like in insects or crayfish. And at the very least I think it produces some great images. It is unfortunate that each mouse has to die, but perhaps that can be circumvented in the future as the method is improved.

Posted by Kyle McCarthy (7)

4 Comments:

At 10:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Kyle,
This is a very interesting article. It is amazing that we can produce color coded images of nervous networks. I agree that it is sad that these animals are killed for this. Usually this kind of treatment of animals is justified by some kind of human benefit. I wonder if this research will lead to any medical advances. This was post was well written and thought provoking, keep up the good work!

Posted by: Emily King

 
At 9:52 PM, Blogger PWH said...

Kyle,

I completely agree with Emily. This is a pretty sweet article. Hopefully the results from this developing research will benefit us in the medical field. For example, maybe sometime in the future the glowing proteins can be "i-v-ed" into coma patients so that we can observe what sections of the brain are stimulated and if they are truly aware of what is going on around them while they are in the coma. It would provide a lot of relief and assurance to the families of the patients and also provide them with a lot of hope. Of course, it would also help doctors devise a recovery plan efficiently.

I haven't read the article yet, and this question may no longer be relevant when I do read it, but you said that when the glowing proteins spread across the neural network the mouse was then euthanized. What kinds of experiments or activities were the scientists manipulating the mice to do so that they would have the "thoughts"?

Great job dude!

Posted by Luzviminda Maurillo

 
At 2:40 PM, Blogger PWH said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

 
At 2:42 PM, Blogger PWH said...

This is a very great article, I learned a lot form reading it. The researcher should keep reanalyze the wiring of the nervous,even many mice will die in the process, because this will help us a lot in the future.

Posted by: Kyle Chiang (7)

 

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