To solve the mysteries of how learning and memory occur, scientists have created a system to track millions of connections among brain cells in mice — all at the same time — when the animals’ whiskers are tweaked, an indicator for learning.

Researchers say the new tool gives an unprecedented view of brain cell activity in a synapse — a tiny space between two brain cells, where molecules and chemicals are passed back and forth.

«It was science fiction to be able to image nearly every synapse in the brain and watch a change in behavior,» says Richard Huganir, Ph.D., Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Neuroscience and Psychological and Brain Sciences at The Johns Hopkins University and director of the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

A summary of the research was published online first Oct. 18 and in its final form Nov. 25 in the journal eLife.

The researchers never thought they’d be able to see brain activity on such a massive scale. They say that before developing the tool, their ability to see brain cell activity was like looking up in the night sky with bare eyes and seeing billions of stars. «It’s like we can see and track each of the stars at the same time» now, says Austin Graves, Ph.D., instructor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkin University School of Medicine.

The space between brain cells, or neurons, is incredibly tiny. It’s less than a micron — about a tenth of the width of a human hair. Within these junctions between neurons is a highway of passing molecules and proteins — mainly sodium and calcium — transferring from one neuron to the next.

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