Scientists create new map of brain region linked to Alzheimer's disease

Curing some of the most vexing diseases first requires navigating the world's most complex structure—the human brain. So, USC scientists have created the most detailed atlas yet of the brain's memory bank. Cartographers of the cranium, a USC research team has illustrated the internal circuitry of the hippocampus in detail that would make the great ancient mapmaker, Ptolemy, proud. Using fluorescent tracers and 3-D animation, the scientists show structures, nerve connections, and functions in vivid detail. The study appears today in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
"Like a new atlas, we've constructed the most detailed diagram of the hippocampus to date," said Michael S. Bienkowski, lead author of the study and a researcher at the USC Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics in the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "With a better map, we can see each region and how it functions. A better map is a resource scientist can use to better understand the hippocampus and how its degeneration leads to diseases."