For the first time, all brain structures have been shown in a 3D model.

For the first time, all brain structures are shown in a 3D model.

The human brain is an incredibly intricate piece of anatomy, but scientists have now been able to visualize its inner workings. By reconstructing a small portion of a woman's cerebral cortex using computer technology, they have created a detailed 3D model that can be viewed online. The model showcases the complexity hidden within the brain, even in just a millimeter-sized section, which contains tens of millions of individual structures.

A group of US researchers from Harvard University's Center for Brain Science led by Alexander Shapson-Coe constructed this remarkable model. The reconstructed area measures only 1 cubic millimeter, but it boasts a mind-boggling 57,000 cells, including approximately 16,000 neurons, 23 centimeters of blood vessels, and 150 million synapses. In addition, glial cells, which perform supportive and supply functions in nerve tissue, and myelin, the insulating layer around nerve cell projections, are both visible.

This level of detail is essential for understanding how the brain functions. According to the team, the human brain is a highly complicated tissue, with little known about its cellular microstructure, such as its synaptic circuits. Disruptions to these circuits are likely linked to various brain disorders.

The model is based on a section of the temporal lobe of a living person's cerebral cortex, which was removed by brain surgeons to access a specific area of the hippocampus during an epilepsy surgery. If scaled up, this piece would be just 1,000 times smaller than a centimeter-sized cube.

Using electron microscopy, the team meticulously examined the brain fragment layer by layer, resulting in a staggering 1,400 terabytes of data. They then turned this information into a 3D computer model, which they've made available for the public to explore through the internet. So far, the team has discovered that glial cells outnumber neurons twice in the region depicted. The most common cell type in this region is oligodendrocytes, another type of glial cell that surrounds the axons of nerve cells and forms the insulating myelin layer.

The researchers plan to share their findings with the wider scientific community, hoping that other researchers will use this model to gain further insights into the intricacies of the human brain. Although they're still in the early stages of studying this data, understanding the connectivity of neuronal circuits will provide valuable information about the workings of our brains. The dataset, comprising of a petabyte, marks just the beginning of their discoveries.