Capturing and displaying the intricacy of the functioning brain

The human brain's complexity has long challenged our understanding of its structure, function, and how changes can lead to neurological disorders. It is simultaneously a network of active nodes, a physically connected network, and a constantly developing organ. Understanding brain function requires establishing connections that exist among neurons across the brain. However, these connections have traditionally been visualised using electron microscopy – a slow and expensive approach.

This project aims to create a comprehensive map of the brain by combining multiple sets of data, allowing holistic analysis of features such as neural activity, microanatomy, and gene expression. Our research focuses on three main objectives:

1. Automated identification and segmentation of microanatomical synchrotron data from whole larva zebrafish brains, including those with epilepsy mutations, to enable statistically powered experiments.
2. Spatially register datasets from three volumetric big data approaches: synchrotron imaging, calcium imaging, and spatial transcriptomics.
3. Develop novel visualisation techniques to effectively communicate the complexity of brain-wide structure and function to both researchers and the public.

Merging these diverse data types will create a unified representation of brain structure, function, and development, and provide novel insights into how the brain works. For example, by observing the structure and connectivity of neurons from synchrotron data alongside neural activity from calcium imaging data, we can reveal how information flows through a particular part of the brain.

This research will help scientists answer fundamental questions about how the brain works and better understand the causes of neurological disorders. Importantly, it will foster a unified approach to understanding the brain, bridging traditionally separate fields of neuroscience.

MDAP's expertise will be crucial in implementing machine learning approaches for automated segmentation, developing spatial registration of big data, and creating compelling visual representations of brain complexity. The project will also benefit from MDAP's skills in image analysis and merging diverse datasets into a coherent whole, maximising the value of existing and future neuroscience research.