Scientists create biggest mammalian brain map ever

Scientists created the biggest mammalian brain map ever — detailing just a cubic millimeter, or 0.2%, of a mouse brain.

The 3D diagram captures more than 2.5 miles of wiring between more than 200,000 cells.

It also maps neuronal activity on top of the wiring, an achievement that one scientist told Nature “really gives you an awe about the sense of complexity in the brain,” comparable to “looking up at the stars of night.”

The work has already offered insights into how neurons form connections, and how the brain stores visual memories.

The researchers hope eventually to chart the other 99.8% of the animal’s brain, something that one scientist said is both “totally doable, and I think it’s worth doing.”