Support Cells:

Astrocytes, so-called support cells, which have been found in recent years to play a critical role in a multitude of brain functions, show up as colored tiling surrounding neurons, the dark ovals in this image of a mouse brain....[More]

Support Cells:

Astrocytes, so-called support cells, which have been found in recent years to play a critical role in a multitude of brain functions, show up as colored tiling surrounding neurons, the dark ovals in this image of a mouse brain.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

On Switches:

A line of Brainbow-engineered cells in a mouse hippocampus glow brightly, revealing excitatory cells that make neurons fire in the folding structure ( middle and bottom ) that is intimately involved in forming new memories....[More]

On Switches:

A line of Brainbow-engineered cells in a mouse hippocampus glow brightly, revealing excitatory cells that make neurons fire in the folding structure (middle and bottom) that is intimately involved in forming new memories. The cortex is the separate region at top.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

A high-power closeup of the excitatory neurons in the hippocampus focuses on a region called the dentate gyrus.

Wire-like extensions from spinal neurons called axons connect to muscles (not shown).

An image of a small region, taken with a confocal microscope, shows the point where the axons from spinal neurons link to muscle fibers.

Wiggle Map:

The entire connectome, a comprehensive tracing of nerve connections, is revealed for a small mouse muscle that wiggles the mouse’s ear (reconstruction from fluorescent protein-labeled muscle nerves)....[More]

Wiggle Map:

The entire connectome, a comprehensive tracing of nerve connections, is revealed for a small mouse muscle that wiggles the mouse’s ear (reconstruction from fluorescent protein-labeled muscle nerves).  [Less] [Link to this slide]

A cross-section of a mouse cerebellum, a structure involved with regulating muscle activity, receives signals from the axons of mossy fiber neurons, the green branching threads.

A close-in image shows the cerebral cortex of a Brainbow mouse

Tangle:

A high magnification image of a region of the cerebral cortex is reconstructed with serial section electron microscopy, another new technique to map the connectome....[More]

Tangle:

A high magnification image of a region of the cerebral cortex is reconstructed with serial section electron microscopy, another new technique to map the connectome. The area in the center—look for tiny white threads—pinpoints the whereabouts of every nerve cell in that one location.  [Less] [Link to this slide]

Reconstruction of a small-volume region of the cerebral cortex using automated serial section electron microscopy reveals the closely packed nerve cells.