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SBRI member :

I am working on the cortico-cortical connectivity of the macaque. We use retrograde tracers to examine topography of interareal connectivity. To do this, we inject tracers in the brain of macaque using MRI guided technology (Brain Sight). We carry out histological processing on the brain so as to accurately allocate labelled neurons to particular cortical areas. An important aspect of the analysis of the material is the recording of the XY coordinates of very large numbers of neurons using a digitalised image system running on Explora Nova software (Mercator). With Explora Nova we are currently developing two major approaches to improving our work. Firstly, a fully automatic dedicated microscopy station able to chart fluorescent cells in individual cortical layers and areas. This will make it possible to reduce processing time by up to 80% and will make it possible to greatly extend the scope of our enquiry. Secondly, the ability to construct 3 and 2D reconstructions of cortical labelling. This will make it possible to obtain accurate data on individual neuron pathway length, important for our on going modelling of the networks of the cerebral cortex.