Beautiful Minds: Imaging Cells of the Nervous System [Slide Show]
More images from the labs of neuroscientists
![Beautiful Minds: Imaging Cells of the Nervous System [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/ABFCD732-D86D-44AA-830CCCEF50E19BDA.jpg?w=590&h=393)
Beautiful Minds: Imaging Cells of the Nervous System [Slide Show]
- Dots and Stripes This image, taken from a "Brainbow" mouse, zooms in on an area of the neocortex to reveal a horizontally layered organization (the pattern of light and dark in the background that suggests anatomical distinctions). The darkest band in the upper portion of the image is the first to receive the bulk of sensory input from the outside world, then (unmarked) neurons in the region pass the information along to the neurons above and below for further processing and broadcasting to the brain's far-flung areas. Tamily Weissman, Jeff Lichtman, and Joshua Sanes (2007)
- Brain Stains: Not only can scientists now see individual neurons inside the brain, but another technique, called immunohistochemistry, allows them to observe proteins inside those neurons. Immunohistochemistry, aka antibody staining, relies on the capacity of antibodies to bind to specific molecules. Biologists have harnessed this approach to study any protein of interest in the brain. The location and function of proteins within brain cells tells researchers what role the proteins play and how they malfunction in cases of disease. The photomicrograph above shows a rat cerebellum, which is involved in motor control. The red portions are GFAP, a cytoskeletal protein found in glia (the non-neuronal cells in the brain that protect and support neurons with nutrients and oxygen). The green portions are an antibody staining of IP3 receptors, proteins that release cellular calcium stores. The structures in blue are stained not with an antibody stain but with a small chemical that binds strongly to DNA, and so is often used to image cell nuclei. Tamily Weissman, Jeff Lichtman, and Joshua Sanes (2005)
- Motor Neuron Superhighway: In 2007 Jean Livet, Joshua Sanes and Jeff Lichtman at Harvard University developed "Brainbow," a molecular technique that tags neurons with a multitude of bright colors, allowing scientists to distinguish an individual neuron from its nearest neighbors. This photomicrograph shows several motor neuron axons traveling side by side on their way to the muscles whose contraction they regulate. Thomas Deerinck and Mark Ellisman (2004)
- Dog Brain: Italian physician and scientist Camillo Golgi made this drawing of a dog's olfactory bulb in 1875 based on a staining method he developed. The application of the Golgi method to the study of nervous tissue marks the beginning of modern neuroscience. Ryan Draft, Jeff Lichtman and Joshua Sanes (2007)
