Connectomics News and Research

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Connectomics is the study of the brain’s structural and functional connections between cells, which is visualized as a connectome. The connectome is a map of all neural connections in a brain and connectomics is the mapping of these connections.

UC San Diego receives funding to establish the Polysubstance Addiction Research Center

Researchers from University of California San Diego have received a $12.6 million award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to establish the Polysubstance Addiction Research Center (PARC), a multidisciplinary center designed to uncover the biological factors that contribute to addiction across multiple substances.

30 Sep 2026

NSF awards $19 million to build 3D biological observatory for revealing life's smallest structures

How does learning change the wiring of your brain? How does a shark's eye make sense of its underwater world? How does a single-celled parasite cross the barrier that protects the brain? What might neurodegeneration look like at ultra-magnified scale?

24 Sep 2026

New imaging platform tracks hundreds of neurons at unprecedented depths

The brain is a vast, densely interconnected network of neurons computing in parallel. Watching these computations unfold in real time could reveal how the brain processes sensation and guides behavior.

23 Jul 2026

Synaptic wiring reveals neuronal identity without relying on morphology

Recent technological advances facilitate the reconstruction of complete brain connectomes in small organisms and partial connectomes in mammals, involving the mapping of the network of neurons and synaptic connections.

19 Mar 2026

Why individual differences hold the key to unlocking psychiatric mysteries

In a revealing Genomic Press Interview published today in Genomic Psychiatry, Dr. Noritaka Ichinohe challenges a foundational assumption that has quietly constrained psychiatric research for decades: the belief that meaningful explanation requires averaging away individual differences.

6 Jan 2026

Hidden cellular layers in the hippocampus' CA1 region revealed

Researchers at the Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC have identified a previously unknown pattern of organization in one of the brain's most important areas for learning and memory.

3 Dec 2025

New technique overcomes technological barrier in 3D brain imaging

Scientists at the Swiss Light Source SLS have succeeded in mapping a piece of brain tissue in 3D at unprecedented resolution using X-rays, non-destructively. The breakthrough overcomes a long-standing technological barrier that had limited the use of X-rays for such studies.

2 Dec 2025

Study finds early neural markers of addiction risk differ between boys and girls

The roots of addiction risk may lie in how young brains function long before substance use begins, according to a new study from Weill Cornell Medicine.

21 Nov 2025

The brain’s hunger switch: TRH neurons hold the key to obesity therapies

Scientists uncover how TRH neurons suppress hunger by inhibiting AgRP neurons, advancing our understanding of GLP-1-based obesity treatments.

9 Dec 2024

Researchers unveil groundbreaking approach to understanding brain activity

A new way of mapping activity and connections between different regions of the brain has revealed fresh insights into how higher order functions like language, thought and attention, are organized.

9 Dec 2024

Advanced 3D brain models created to study memory and perception

The hippocampus is one of the most fascinating brain regions. Associated with the formation of memories, it also helps us to navigate through the world without getting lost.

22 Nov 2024

SfN 2024: Where neuroscience meets community, collaboration, and innovation

At SfN 2024, neuroscientists converge to share groundbreaking research, fostering interdisciplinary connections and advancing the understanding of the brain.

7 Nov 2024

Howard Hughes Medical Institute announces $500 million to support AI-driven projects in life sciences

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute today announced AI@HHMI, a $500 million investment over the next 10 years to support artificial intelligence-driven projects in the life sciences.

12 Aug 2024

High-tech imaging and VR used for mapping the brain and understanding developmental disorders

Through high-tech imaging and virtual reality, a University of South Florida 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.

24 May 2024

Researchers create the largest 3D reconstruction of human brain fragment

A cubic millimeter of brain tissue may not sound like much. But considering that tiny square contains 57,000 cells, 230 millimeters of blood vessels, and 150 million synapses, all amounting to 1,400 terabytes of data, Harvard and Google researchers have just accomplished something enormous.

9 May 2024

Harvard neuroscientist seeks to capture synapse-level connectome data from a mouse brain

The human brain is a tangled highway of wires emanating from nearly 100 billion neurons, all of which communicate across trillions of junctions called synapses. "Depressingly complex," Harvard neuroscientist Jeff Lichtman calls it.

9 Oct 2023

Three new projects launched to map neuronal connections in the mouse and macaque brains

A complete map of all the connections in an entire mammalian brain may be in sight. Allen Institute researchers have just launched three new projects to construct large, detailed maps of neuronal connections in sections of the mouse and macaque brains, with an eye toward creating full wiring diagrams of these animals' brains in the future.

26 Sep 2023

Connectomics News and Research

Further Reading

UC San Diego receives funding to establish the Polysubstance Addiction Research Center

NSF awards $19 million to build 3D biological observatory for revealing life's smallest structures

New imaging platform tracks hundreds of neurons at unprecedented depths

Synaptic wiring reveals neuronal identity without relying on morphology

Why individual differences hold the key to unlocking psychiatric mysteries

Hidden cellular layers in the hippocampus' CA1 region revealed

New technique overcomes technological barrier in 3D brain imaging

Study finds early neural markers of addiction risk differ between boys and girls

The brain’s hunger switch: TRH neurons hold the key to obesity therapies

Researchers unveil groundbreaking approach to understanding brain activity

Advanced 3D brain models created to study memory and perception

SfN 2024: Where neuroscience meets community, collaboration, and innovation

Howard Hughes Medical Institute announces $500 million to support AI-driven projects in life sciences

High-tech imaging and VR used for mapping the brain and understanding developmental disorders

Researchers create the largest 3D reconstruction of human brain fragment

Harvard neuroscientist seeks to capture synapse-level connectome data from a mouse brain

Three new projects launched to map neuronal connections in the mouse and macaque brains

Multiple subtypes of major depressive disorder identified using brain imaging

Humans can perceive a greater range of blue tones than monkeys

Structure of the irregular neuronal connection strengths contains a hidden order, study finds

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