A previous Pazanga blog on the NIH Brain Atlas, a decade-long effort to map 170 billion brain cells, marked a turning point in brain science. Since then, two new studies extend that work, refining the brain’s architecture and revealing how decisions emerge across the whole brain.
The NextBrain study produced one of the most detailed 3D anatomical maps of the human brain to date. By digitally reconstructing thousands of microscopic tissue slices and aligning them with AI, researchers pinpointed 333 distinct brain regions and made that anatomy compatible with standard MRI scans. That means doctors can locate brain regions more precisely across different people, strengthening research into aging and neurodegenerative disease. Read more
The International Brain Laboratory's brain-wide activity map examines how the brain actually makes decisions. Researchers recorded activity from hundreds of thousands of neurons spanning almost an entire mouse brain during a decision-making task. The finding? It's not handled by a few specialized regions, it's a whole-brain effort, with sensory, motor, and cognitive areas working together. That challenges long-held assumptions in neuroscience, shifting researchers toward network-level thinking over localized functions. Read more
Together, these projects reflect a broader shift in how we study the brain, from isolated regions to a connected, integrated system. One maps the architecture; the other reveals how it functions in real time. Combined, they’re building a stronger foundation for addressing Alzheimer’s, autism, and schizophrenia, a future worth being excited about.
A previous Pazanga blog on the NIH Brain Atlas, a decade-long effort to map 170 billion brain cells, marked a turning point in brain science. Since then, two new studies extend that work, refining the brain’s architecture and revealing how decisions emerge across the whole brain.
The NextBrain study produced one of the most detailed 3D anatomical maps of the human brain to date. By digitally reconstructing thousands of microscopic tissue slices and aligning them with AI, researchers pinpointed 333 distinct brain regions and made that anatomy compatible with standard MRI scans. That means doctors can locate brain regions more precisely across different people, strengthening research into aging and neurodegenerative disease. Read more
The International Brain Laboratory's brain-wide activity map examines how the brain actually makes decisions. Researchers recorded activity from hundreds of thousands of neurons spanning almost an entire mouse brain during a decision-making task. The finding? It's not handled by a few specialized regions, it's a whole-brain effort, with sensory, motor, and cognitive areas working together. That challenges long-held assumptions in neuroscience, shifting researchers toward network-level thinking over localized functions. Read more
Together, these projects reflect a broader shift in how we study the brain, from isolated regions to a connected, integrated system. One maps the architecture; the other reveals how it functions in real time. Combined, they’re building a stronger foundation for addressing Alzheimer’s, autism, and schizophrenia, a future worth being excited about.