New brain imaging technology or research to accelerate the pathogenesis of mental illness

Release date: 2012-10-22

Recently, neuroscientists from MIT have developed a new method to detect how brain cells coordinate with each other to control specific behaviors, such as body movements or smelling odors. The researchers' new imaging techniques, based on the detection of calcium ions in neurons, can help them map the brain's circuits, which will help to understand the treatment of autism, obsessive-compulsive and behavioral disorders, or mental illness. The study was published on the October 18th international magazine Neuron. The researchers' calcium-imaging systems can be localized to specific cell types by using green fluorescent proteins, and MIT researchers express specific proteins in pyramidal cells of engineered mice using double-photon microscopy. High-speed, high-resolution imaging of cells, the researchers found that when the brain performs a specific task or responds to a specific stimulus, the pyramidal cells are activated. In this study, the team found pyramidal cells in the somatosensory cortex. When the mouse whiskers were touched, the pyramidal cells were activated and the olfactory cells responded to specific aromas. Researchers can now use this imaging system to study the behavior of the brain when many behaviors occur. The researchers developed mice that express calcium-sensitive proteins, autism symptoms, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. Researchers can look for neuronal activation patterns that are different from normal mice, which will help researchers identify exactly what went wrong and cause the disease to occur. Researcher Feng said that today, we only know that the lack of communication between neurons plays an important role in the pathogenesis of mental illness. We do not know the specific details of the missing and special pathogenic cells involved in this process. If we know which cells are in an abnormal state, then we can look for ways to correct these cell activation patterns. Researchers now plan to combine their imaging techniques with optogenetics, which will enable them to use optical techniques to switch specific neurons. By activating specific cells, you can observe the response of the targeted cells so that the researchers can accurately map the brain's response. Relevant research is funded by institutions such as the National Institutes of Health.

Source: Bio Valley