Scientists merged images of dissected brains with scans to create unprecedented map using AI
Scientists have uncovered possible genetic risk factors for cancers and psychiatric disorders in a pioneering project to map the human brain in the sharpest detail yet.
Researchers have drafted cerebral “atlases” for people and other mammals as part of the international project, which promises clues to combating conditions triggered by problems during the brain’s growth or ageing.
“By combining high-resolution tissue data with advanced AI techniques, we’ve created a tool that allows researchers to analyse brain scans in a level of detail that was previously unattainable,” said Juan Eugenio Iglesias, senior author of the research published in Nature on Wednesday. “This opens up new possibilities for studying neurodegenerative diseases and ageing.”
Iglesias, a medical imaging researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, worked with colleagues including from University College London to create an atlas called NextBrain. Their aim was to overcome the problem that the brain cannot be examined by microscope in living people, meaning it has not been possible to track precisely how it changes over time.
Read the full story: Brain atlas reveals genetic risks for cancer and mental illness (FT)