Skip to main content

Illinois IGB

Gallery

Art of Science Gallery 06

aos06_14
Heart of the Mind

Multiphoton Confocal Microscope Zeiss 710 with Mai Tai eHP Ti:sapphire laser

Christopher Seward

Lisa Stubbs Laboratory

Funded by the Simons Foundation

Like the Banner Image, “A Clear Mind,” the mouse brain seen here was prepared with a technique that makes the tissue transparent while leaving it intact. Animal brains are large, complex structures, and can be much more easily studied when the need to image them one section at a time is eliminated. By examining the activity and distribution of genes and proteins, researchers can identify mechanisms involved in social and emotional learning across diverse species, in order to better understand social behavior and social disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and depression.