Scientists have created the first high-resolution 3D digital model of the human brain, which provides more details about the human brain than existing models.
Scientists from Germany and Spain have created the first ever 3D digital model of the human brain which provides more details about the human brain than existing ones and it has been named "BigBrain." It reportedly allows researchers to see in the brain anatomy in microscopic detail and objects smaller than a stand of fine human hair will be visible to them.
BigBrain will be made freely available to neuroscientists to help them in their research, the press release notes. This could help scientists observe the gray matter in the brain, which could lead to them gaining a better understanding of how neurological diseases arise and aid in developing effective ways to treat them.
For the model, scientists dissected the brain of a dead 65-year-old woman, which had been preserved in paraffin wax, into 7,400 sections each measuring up to half the thickness of a fine hair strand. For this, a special tool called a microtome was used. These sections were placed on slides and then stained for anatomical detail. The stained slides were then scanned and uploaded into a computer in high definition.
The model took ten years to complete and has captured images of 80 billion neurons, which now make up the 3D high definition digital brain model.
Prof Katrin Amunts from the Julich Research Centre in Germany, one of the researchers involved in making the model compared it to the process of "using Google Earth" where scientists will be able to see details of the brain that were otherwise not visible.
"We are planning to integrate our receptor data of the human brain in the reference frame provided by the BigBrain," continued senior co-author Dr. Karl Zilles, who is senior professor of the Jülich Aachen Research Alliance and former director of the Cecile and Oskar Vogt Institute for Brain Research at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf in Germany in a press release published by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. "We will also transfer high-resolution maps of quantitative data on the regional and laminar distribution of native receptor complexes to the BigBrain. This will allow us to explore the relationship between cortical microanatomy and key molecules of neurotransmission."
Prof Paul Fletcher, a psychiatrist at Cambridge University, is the first to reveal that he will definitely use this new reference model in his research. Fletcher is currently studying the brain to understand more about eating disorders. He says the new BigBrain goes much beyond other existing models and scans of the brain give him unprecedented insights into the workings and composition of the brain.
The model has been published in the journal Science.
