Scientists recently developed a way to map how brain cells are connected using light microscopes in a technique called LICONN.
About LICONN Technology:
Light-microscopy-based Connectomics (LICONN) is a new method to map the brain’s complex neural networks at the nanoscale while simultaneously identifying specific molecules within those connections.
It was developed at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA).
LICONN combines conventional light microscopy technology with the properties of hydrogel and experimental techniques, artificial intelligence, and analytical methods.
It is the first technology beyond electron microscopy (EM) that is capable of reconstructing brain tissue with all the synaptic connections between neurons.
Until now, researchers studying brain connectivity faced a challenging trade-off: they could either see the detailed physical structure of neural connections using electron microscopy (EM) or identify specific molecules using light microscopy—but not both simultaneously at the resolution needed to trace individual connections.
LICONN allows researchers to see structures in the brain that are smaller than what normal light microscopes can detect.
They do this by soaking brain tissue in a special gel that expands it by about 16 times its original size, then use fluorescent stains to highlight different proteins and advanced computer programs, including AI, to identify and trace the shapes of neurons.
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