Scientists Use Tiny Mouse Brain Sample to Map Neuron Synapses

A group of scientists from Harvard University recently reported in the journal Cell an interesting study on how neurons interact in the brain. Using a mouse brain tissue sample that was "smaller than a dust mite," the scientists were able to directly visualize two interacting brain cell branches, the connecting neuronal synapses, and multiple supporting glia.

The piece of tissue they used was from the cortex of the mouse brain, which deals with more complex information processing than most of the rest of the brain. The scientists scanned very small pieces of brain tissue and created a 3-D model of the neuron connections, shown in the video above.