Center creating ultra-detailed mouse brain wiring maps
BRAIN CONNECTS: A Center for High-throughput Integrative Mouse Connectomics
Building extremely detailed 3D maps of mouse brain connections to better understand changes related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Cambridge, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11184236 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project will produce ultra-high-resolution 3D maps of mouse brain wiring down to individual synapses, focusing on the hippocampus, a key memory area. Researchers will use advanced serial-section electron microscopy and novel staining and imaging methods to capture very large tissue volumes. Automated image-processing and proofreading will reconstruct and label neurons, glia, blood vessels, myelin, cell bodies, and synapses so wiring patterns can be studied. The resulting datasets and analysis tools will be shared so other scientists can look for Alzheimer’s-related changes and new therapeutic targets.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Although this is a mouse-based project that does not enroll people, its findings are most relevant to people with Alzheimer’s disease or memory loss.
Not a fit: Patients seeking immediate treatment or enrollment in a clinical trial should not expect direct benefit because this is preclinical, laboratory-based research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reveal how Alzheimer’s changes brain wiring and point to new targets for diagnostics or treatments.
How similar studies have performed: Previous smaller-scale electron-microscopy connectome projects have succeeded locally, but mapping volumes this large and scaling to whole brains is largely novel and ambitious.
Where this research is happening
Cambridge, United States
- Harvard University — Cambridge, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lichtman, Jeff W — Harvard University
- Study coordinator: Lichtman, Jeff W
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.