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Illinois IGB

Gallery

Art of Science Gallery 07

Seedling of Thought
Seedling of Thought

Zeiss LSM 880 Airyscan

Rajashekar Iyer

Martha Gillette Laboratory

Funded by the NSF and the NIH

This delicate structure is a single brain cell (neuron) from a region of the brain called the hippocampus, which contributes to the formation and recall of memories. The many elaborate branches seen here are neurites; information is exchanged between neurons at synapses, where neurites meet. Images like this one enable the study of neurite development, helping us to understand what goes wrong in diseases of brain development.