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Allen Institute

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·April 24, 2024·5 min read

How Sensory Experiences Shape Neurons

A new study introduces BARseq—a rapid, cost-effective method for mapping brain cells, revealing new insights into how our brains are structured at a cellular level. Researchers used BARseq to classify millions of neurons across multiple mouse brains, discovering unique 'cellular signatures' that define each brain region.

Featured Neuroscience

·December 14, 2023·5 min read

How Dopamine Deciphers Learning in the Brain

Researchers made a significant breakthrough in understanding how the brain assigns credit to specific actions leading to rewards. Their study used a novel "closed loop" system with mice to explore how dopamine, a crucial neurotransmitter, shapes learning through trial and error.

Featured Neuroscience Visual Neuroscience

·November 13, 2023·4 min read

Visual Perception: Unveiling the Mystery of “Unseeing” in the Brain

A new study explores visual masking, a phenomenon where rapid sequential images lead to the first being 'unseen.' This study successfully demonstrated visual masking in mice, mirroring human perception, indicating a similar neurological process.

This shows a computer generated connectom.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 12, 2023·8 min read

Cellular Map of Entire Brain Reveals What Makes Us Human

A groundbreaking suite of 21 papers has unveiled a momentous leap in our understanding of the brain, spotlighting the intricate cellular composition of human and primate brains through a consortium led by the BRAIN Initiative. Utilizing innovative single-cell transcriptomics, researchers illuminated a stunning array of over 3,000 different brain cells and their distinctive functionalities.

This shows a representation of cell inflammation.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·June 12, 2023·6 min read

Inflammation Firestorm Could Be The Secret Culprit of Long COVID

An overactive inflammatory response might be the key to many long COVID cases. Through an examination of proteins in the blood, the researchers discovered unique inflammation markers present only in a subset of long COVID patients.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 14, 2022·4 min read

Exposing Brain Tissue to Psilocybin Provides Insights Into Consciousness, Depression and Anxiety

Investigating how psychedelics such as psilocybin act on serotonin receptors, researchers shed new light on how the drugs affect consciousness and assist in treating a range of mental health disorders.

This shows cells in the primary motor cortex

Featured Neuroscience

·September 22, 2022·6 min read

Mapping the Whole Human Brain

The Allen Institute is launching a new global collaboration to map approximately 200 billion cells in the human brain by type and function.

This shows a 3D rendering of neurons from the dataset

Featured Neuroscience

·July 29, 2021·4 min read

Neuroscientists Unveil Wiring Diagram Containing 200,000 Cells and Nearly Half Billion Connections in Tiny Piece of a Mouse’s Brain

Researchers have compiled a new, highly detailed 3D brain map that captures the shapes and activity of neurons in the visual neocortex of mice. The map is freely available for neuroscience researchers and artificial intelligence specialists to utilize.

This shows a researchers holding a brain slice

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·August 25, 2019·6 min read

Highest-resolution human brain ‘parts list’ to date lays road map to better treatments

Researchers have created the most comprehensive 'parts list' of the human brain to date. They uncovered crucial differences between human and mouse brain cells. The findings may explain why many drugs used in research do not work in human models.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 27, 2018·6 min read

New Kind of Human Brain Cell Identified

Researchers have identified a new type of human neuron which they have dubbed the 'rosehip neuron'. The newly discovered cells are inhibitory neurons which may only be found in human and primate brains.

Featured Genetics Neurology Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos

·May 9, 2018·3 min read

Allen Integrated Cell Released Online

Allen Institute researchers have launched a new predictive, comprehensive model of a living human cell. The 3D model has been released as a public resource that will allow researchers to study human disease models and better understand cell properties.