By: Cassidy Delamarter, University Communications and Marketing
Through high-tech imaging and virtual reality, a 黑料网吃瓜爆料 medical engineering professor is creating a detailed map of the brain that can be used to better understand developmental disorders, such as autism, and provide earlier, more effective treatments for brain injuries and diseases.
Funded by a $3.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, George Spirou is expanding on his four decades of brain research to focus on the part of the brain that processes sound, called the calyx of Held 鈥� the largest nerve terminal in the human brain. Auditory dysfunction is often the source of symptoms of disorders, such as autism, which typically result in social and cognitive impairment.
鈥淓ven though we鈥檙e focusing on a specific part of the brain involved in hearing, the information we gather can help us understand serious developmental disorders that happen when the brain doesn鈥檛 develop properly early on,鈥� Spirou said. 鈥淥ur findings could also pave the way for innovative strategies to repair and reconnect damaged neural circuits affected by disease and injuries later in life.鈥�
Using high-resolution imaging technology combined with image analysis inside the at USF, Spirou is creating the most accurate developmental timeline for any neural system in the brain. They鈥檙e able to capture the journey of neurons in mice from birth to their establishment of intricate synaptic connections. According to the NIH, mice and human brains have very similar neuron types and connections.
With software created by Spirou and his colleagues, he and his doctoral student, Daniel Heller, are using to intricately examine the neurons captured in the images and analyze the synapses through an immersive experience. While developing neural systems have been studied, Spirou said not at this combined level of temporal and spatial resolution.
鈥淏etween the fourth and fifth