Pioneering new imaging technologies
Stanford physicists, engineers, computer scientists and neuroscientists are developing the next generation of imaging and computational tools for visualizing genetic expression, neural activity and other biological processes related to neurological development, function and disease. By increasing the precision and sophistication with which researchers and clinicians can examine the mechanisms of the nervous system, these tools support the far-ranging efforts of investigators to develop ever more accurate molecular, cellular and circuitry models of normal and abnormal neurological function.
These groundbreaking technologies include the use of:
- confocal microscopes to detect protein movements and trafficking at the subcellular level
- ultra-fast imaging methods and physiological indicators to measure the responses of individual neurons in active neural circuits
- genetic expression of fluorescent and enzymatic tags that enable the visualization of neural connections in development and adulthood
- two-photon "endoscopes" that permit sneak looks at neural activity and blood flow deep inside the brain
- novel electron microscopic methods that enable the reconstruction of complete synaptic circuits
- potent imaging methods to visualize the firing patterns of neurons in awake, behaving animals and humans
- powerful modalities based on magnetic resonance imaging such as:
- Functional MRI to track blood flow in the brain and provide a real-time "movie" of its activity.
- Structural MRI to provide high-resolution images of the brain's shape and size
- Diffusion tensor imaging to map the movement of water throughout the brain's white matter and reveal the information about the fiber direction and integrity of the brain's connectivity or wiring.
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