A comprehensive map of the human brain is a long-held goal of neuroanatomists. Noninvasive imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) do allow scientists to study the healthy living human brain. However, they provide only limited anatomical detail. A higher level of detail can be obtained by microscopy on the brains of deceased donors. But that, in turn, usually focuses on small brain structures imaged in 2D. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Amsterdam and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences has combined MRI and microscopy. This has produced 3D images of two complete brains with an unprecedented level of detail.
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