Help support brain research with the CBR calendar. Featuring a
variety of fascinating neuroscience images, the calendar showcases the amazing
research underway at the Centre for Brain Research.
Displaying the breadth of research underway at the CBR, the calendar showcases
the wonders of the brain. You can receive a copy of the calendar with a $10
contribution towards brain research at the CBR. For further information about
receiving a copy of the calendar please email:
cbrcalendar@auckland.ac.nz
The winner of our image competition was 'July: Making Friends'. This fantastic
image was taken by Dr Renee Gordon, meaning that her lab, led by Associate
Professor Bronwen Connor, will receive a $500 contribution towards communicating
their research at a scientific conference.
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January: Sound waves
Dr Mary O’Keefe, Auditory
Neuroscience Group
Waving like plant fronds in the sea, this image shows
sensory hair cells lining the inner ear. As sound or movement hits our ears and
balance system, it causes the hair cells to move and transmit a signal to the
brain. In this picture the sensory hair cells are highlighted gold, and the
vestibular organ in the ear is immunolabelled blue with NTPDase6 antibody.
NTPDase6 is an enzyme which is involved in sensory transduction in the inner
ear, when sound or movement gets turned into a nerve signal. The Auditory
Neuroscience group study this type of enzyme to further understand their role in
hearing and vestibular disease and damage.
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February: Imagining the future
Victoria Martin, Memory
Lab
Allowing us to virtually see inside the brain, magnetic resonance imaging is a
technique to highlight brain activity. This image shows the brain regions
involved in imagining the future; the areas are on average more active when
people imagine hypothetical events which might happen to them in the future than
when they do a control task of constructing sentences. The Memory Lab team has
found that these regions, such as the medial prefrontal, medial temporal, and
medial parietal cortex, all overlap with brain regions which activate when
people remember past events that have already happened to them. This suggests
that remembering and imagining use very similar brain processes.
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March: Brain stars
Amy Smith, Human Neurodegeneration
Research
With fiery projections spreading out across the page, it’s easy to see why
astrocyte cells are named after stars. Astrocytes are brain glial cells which
have many functions including scar formation, repair processes, metabolic
support, and chemical uptake and release. This astrocyte is from adult human
brain tissue and is labelled with a marker for glial fibrillary acidic protein.
In the CBR Biobank, the scientists grow brain cells from donated adult human
brain tissue and study their functions and response to drugs.
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April: The flow of new life
Ankita Singh, Molecular
Neuroanatomy
Small balls of cells are flowing in the stream of new life- the Rostral
Migratory Stream (RMS) in the brain. Neuroblasts are new brain cells which are
born in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and travel down the RMS towards the smell
area of the brain. In this process of migration, various molecules are involved
in guiding and nourishing these young cells which are studied by the Molecular
Neuroanatomy Lab. Connexins, especially connexin 30 (here labeled fluorescently
green), are thought to be one of the molecules that are present between the
neuroblasts (labeled red) and help to guide them in the right direction.
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May: Transforming neurons
Erin Firmin & Dr Christof
Maucksch, Neural Repair and Neurogenesis
Reaching their first dendrites across the page, these are neurons which have
been formed by reprogramming adult human skin cells. The Neural Repair and
Neurogenesis Lab reprograms the skin cells by adding new genes, then growing
them in cell culture media which promotes neural formation. Neurospheres form
gradually and are then given cell culture media to turn them into neurons. Using
this technique it is possible that someday we may be able to reprogram skin
cells into specific types of neural cells and use these as a therapy for
diseases such as Huntington’s disease.
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June: Spiral of sound
Cherry Mao, Cochlear Physiology
Laboratory
Within all our ears is a conch-like spiralling structure called the cochlea.
This is where sound is turned into nerve impulses so we can identify noises like
speech. Here, part of a mouse cochlea is labelled with a red neuronal tracing
dye called tetramethyl rhodamine dextran (TMRD) and an antibody against a
cellular protein called peripherin (green). TMRD labels mainly the single row of
inner hair cells and peripherin labels mainly the three rows of outer hair
cells.Top
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July: Making friends
Dr Renee Gordon, Neural Repair and
Neurogenesis
This alien-like image shows two astrocytes forming new connections with each
other. The astrocytes were generated from adult neural stem cells grown in
culture by the Neural Repair and Neurogenesis Lab. This allows us to understand
what directs a stem cell to turn into an astrocyte, and the role astrocytes play
in the health and diseased brain. Here the astrocytes are labelled green and the
cell nuclei, which are the hub of the cell, are labelled blue.
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August: A sea of noise
Cherry Mao, Cochlear Physiology
Laboratory
This cell would look just as at home floating under a tropical sea as it does in
our inner ear. Emulating an aptly named ‘brain-coral’, the image actually shows
a mouse cochlear nucleus section. The blue fluorescent Nissl stain highlights
neuronal tissue, while the red synaptophysin is a pre-synaptic marker, showing
where the cell ends and touches another. Nerve impulses rush across this gap via
synaptic proteins, and transmit messages from cell to cell. The Cochlear
Physiology Laboratory study these connections to better understand how auditory
nerve cells develop and integrate together, which could help find a treatment
for tinnitus.Top
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September: The universe within our brains
Dr Renee
Gordon, Neural Repair and Neurogenesis
This spectacular image looks like something taken by the Hubble telescope, but
actually shows a network of brain cells. The cells are glial cells called
astrocytes, which are involved in nerve cell regulation. The astrocytes were
generated from adult neural stem cells grown in culture, and are used by the
Neural Repair and Neurogenesis lab to study stem cell growth.
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October: The centre of learning and memory
Dr Ji Bai
This beautiful immunofluorescent image shows the structure of a rat hippocampus,
a brain area involved in learning and memory. The nerve cells are stained green
and the star-like house-keeping astrocytes are stained red. The lab is
interested in exploring the molecular mechanisms of neuron damages associated
with Alzheimer’s Disease, in particular the link between astrocyte dysfunction
and the disease process for potential drug discovery.
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November: Star burst
Dr Renee Gordon, Neural Repair and
Neurogenesis
This spectacular image shows the formation of new brain cells, called neurons.
The new neurons have been generated from adult stem cells grown in culture.
Neurons are involved in all the electric and chemical signalling in the brain
and are often lost through brain disease and injury. By generating new neurons
from adult stem cells, the Neural Repair and Neurogenesis Lab can better
understand how new neurons are made, and hope to develop new therapies to repair
the injured or diseased brain.
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December: Psychedelic inhibition
Dr Henry Waldvogel &
Jocelyn Bullock, Human Brain Bank
This psychedelic image is truly a feast for the eye, but it actually represents
the calming network of the brain. The colours highlight the density of GABAa
receptors in the human brain, which are responsible for inhibiting cell activity
and reducing nerve excitation. The autoradiogram shows thalamus on the left,
which is mainly responsible for sensory control, and the basal ganglia on the
right, which is responsible for movement control. The two structures are
separated by the internal capsule which is not labelled. The Human Brain Bank
team study human brain tissue to gain an insight into neurodegenerative
disorders of the human brain.Top
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