The most detailed map of a brain ever seen details 10 MILLION neurons

"Scientists have unveiled the most detailed map of the brain ever created. The fascinating chart represents almost 10 million neurons, 26 billion synapses and 86 interconnected brain regions. It was created with Fugaku, Japan's ultra-fast supercomputer, which is capable of quadrillions of calculations per second. Scientists will use their digital copy to answer questions about what happens in a disease, how brain waves shape mental focus and how seizures spread in the brain."

"Until now, these questions could only be answered using real brain tissue, one experiment at a time. Dr Anton Arkhipov, an investigator at the Allen Institute in Seattle who worked on the project, called the map a 'technical milestone'. 'With this kind of computational power, the goal of a full, biophysically accurate brain model isn't just science fiction anymore,' he said. 'Scientists are in a new frontier where understanding the brain means, quite literally, being able to build one.'"

"The stunning new image is a virtual copy of a mouse's cortex, the brain's critically important outermost layer. The vibrant colours refer to the different cortical areas responsible for different jobs, such as visual processing, body movement, decision-making and more. Each region is made up of an incredibly dense forest of neurons (otherwise known as nerve cells) which transmit electrical and chemical signals to enable communication throughout the brain and body."

The digital map captures almost 10 million neurons, 26 billion synapses and 86 interconnected regions of a mouse cortex. The model was generated using Fugaku, an ultra-fast supercomputer capable of quadrillions of calculations per second. The virtual cortex allows computational experiments to probe disease mechanisms, how brain waves influence attention, and seizure propagation without relying solely on individual tissue experiments. The image uses vivid colours to denote cortical areas responsible for vision, movement, decision-making and other functions. Individual neurons appear as white, tree-like branches that transmit electrical signals along axons and relay information chemically via neurotransmitters to initiate currents in connected cells.

Read at Mail Online