Google researchers have made significant advancements in mapping brain tissue, contributing to our understanding of the human mind. On July 8, 2024, Google’s Connectomics team completed the largest AI-assisted digital reconstruction of human brain tissue, mapping a cubic millimeter at a resolution high enough to reveal individual neurons and their connections. This breakthrough required 1.4 petabytes of data and unveiled unexpected structures, such as neurons forming giant knots.
The next focus is on the mouse brain, specifically its hippocampus, which is critical for memory and spatial navigation. The goal is to gather data necessary to address long-standing questions about memory storage, object and face recognition, sleep, and brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. The human brain, with its 86 billion neurons and over 100 trillion synapses, presents a daunting challenge for mapping. Current technology could take centuries and billions of dollars to map entirely.
The Connectomics team’s efforts have already made substantial contributions to neuroscience. They’ve developed technologies to handle and analyze vast amounts of data, such as flood-filling networks and the SegCLR algorithm, and created software like TensorStore and Neuroglancer for processing and visualizing large multidimensional images.
By mapping smaller brains, such as those of fruit flies, zebra finches, and zebrafish larvae, the team has produced valuable datasets used by thousands of researchers. These efforts culminated in the recent publication of a human brain tissue map in Science.
Mapping the mouse hippocampus, representing 2-3% of its brain, is now underway in collaboration with Harvard, Princeton, and other institutions. This project aims to deliver insights into human brain function and disorders. The task is formidable, with the data required to map a mouse brain estimated at 20,000-30,000 terabytes.
If successful, this project will mark the first detailed map of a mammalian hippocampus, pushing the boundaries of neuroscience and opening new pathways to understanding the human mind.
Source, July 8, 2024
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