From Chemistry to Circuitry: Decoding the Architecture of the Brain

"From Chemistry to Circuitry: Decoding the Architecture of the Brain"

The brain is a vast network of intricately interconnected neurons. Capturing this complex structure across multiple scales, from nanoscale local connections to mesoscale inter-areal projections, presents a significant challenge for imaging. Adding to this structural complexity, the neurons within this network are not generic; rather, they are extraordinarily diverse in their biochemical signatures, which underpin their unique ways of processing and transmitting signals. The lack of methods to effectively integrate the molecular profiles of individual neurons with their structural connectivity poses another hurdle on our way to understanding brain circuitry. My presentation will delve into harnessing innovative chemical methods and advanced microscopy to enable synapse-level circuit imaging across an entire mouse brain and to superimpose multiple fluorescent immunolabels onto the circuit map to interrogate the molecular identities of brain cells. I will also discuss applying this powerful tool to advance our understanding of brain disorders that often involve alterations in the brain's underlying circuitry but remain elusive in the disease mechanisms.

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