New Imaging Method Details Brain Abnormalities in Mice

Published November 14, 2013 in Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative

A new imaging technique that can assemble finely detailed pictures of an individual mouses brain in less than a day is being used to explore mouse models of autism. The automated technique cuts a mouse brain into 280 thin slices, which are scanned by a powerful microscope and the resulting images are then stitched together into a three-dimensional view. The researchers used this technique to investigate the imbalance of excitatory and inhibitory signals in a mouse model of 16p11.2 deletion. People missing this chromosomal region have an increased risk for autism, and about one-quarter have epilepsy, in which an excess of excitatory signals causes seizures.

http://sfari.org/news-and-opinion/conference-news/2013/society-for-neuroscience-2013/new-imaging-method-details-brain-abnormalities-in-mice

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