The Science Behind Better Visualizing Brain Function

Scientists at the Allen Institute have developed a breakthrough method to visualize brain signals by engineering variants of the iGluSnFR protein that detect glutamate, the brain's primary chemical messenger for learning and memory. After testing 70 protein variants in mouse brains, researchers identified two sensitive enough to capture previously undetectable neural signals across multiple brain regions. This advancement allows scientists to monitor complete information flow between neurons and could lead to better treatments for Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, and autism.