Interweb of the mind

The brain is the body’s command centre, built from over 86 billion nerve cells called neurons. Neurons allow us to move our muscles, experience the external world, form memories, think – and much, much more!

This image shows a ‘web’ of two different types of neurons (depicted in red and blue) grown, or cultured, in a Petri dish. As methods of studying whole living brains are limited, cultured neurons allow scientists to investigate what occurs in the brain despite these technical limitations.

Researcher Melody uses these neurons to study how certain genetic mutations affect the behaviour and growth of different types of neurons, and how these mutations contribute to neurodevelopmental disorders.

Information from images like this will help uncover the developmental processes affected and identify potential therapeutic targets to improve or prevent neurodevelopmental disorders in patients with these genetic mutations.

FIRST PLACE – STILL IMAGE CATEGORY