The brain is the organ that captains the ship of our body and efforts to understand its intricate functioning are the order of the day. Thus, the Allen Institute for Brain Science (USA) has published two studies in the journal Nature that present new advances in the study of the activity of the human brain .
The first investigation shows the connectome, that is, the brain connections, of the mouse brain , presenting the organization of the neuronal "wiring" that will help to understand how the nervous system processes information.
“The mouse shares the basic architecture of the human brain. This rodent is the best experimental model to study brain function and the efficacy of drugs in certain diseases, "says Hongkui Zeng, scientist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and lead author of the study.
The presented map offers complementary data never seen before, showing a 3D map at the cellular level with a resolution one thousand times higher than in the human brain .
The second study reveals details and differences about genes involved in prenatal brain development in both humans and rodents "whose differences underscore the importance of studying the human brain in particular to accurately understand its functioning and disorders," says Ed Lein, neurologist at the Allen Institute for Brain Science and lead author of the study.
