Slicing & Mapping your Brain @ WBE Workshop 2023
With Todd Huffman
In this talk summary, Todd Huffman, co-founder of E11, discusses the goals and techniques employed by his research organization focused on large-scale brain imaging. E11 aims to increase the speed and decrease the cost of neuroscience investigations using light imaging, which provides color and the ability to work with complex biomolecules. Two breakthrough technologies integrated by E11 are barcoding and expansion microscopy. Barcoding involves labeling neurons with separate barcodes, allowing for tracing and skipping long distances. Expansion microscopy combined with extracellular matrix stain provides similar results to electron microscopy regarding broad morphology. E11 has collected data from injection sites and synaptic projections, observing synaptic projections up to three millimeters away without examining what’s in between, and they have used expansion microscopy to confirm synapses. The future goals of E11 include achieving a 100x improvement in speed and cost reduction in neuroscience investigations within five years, as well as finding ways to justify whole brain emulation using intermediate goals.