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Details
Topics: Neuroscience
Audience: Advanced undergraduate students, introductory graduate students
Databases: Allen Mouse Brain Atlas, Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas
Resource type: Lesson
About this lesson:
This lesson is built around a student worksheet where students are guided through two open access resources: the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas (gene expression) and the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas (images of axonal projections). Through this activity, students explore neuroanatomical atlases and the connections between gene expression and brain region functions. An optional extension activity challenges students to explore a research question of their choice exploring connectivity between brain regions.
What is the Allen Mouse Brain Atlas?
The database consists of a comprehensive review of gene expression across the healthy adult mouse brain. Over 20,000 gene expression levels were surveyed across the whole mouse brain and in situ hybridization (ISH) was used to record gene expression.
What is the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas?
This database consists of images of axonal projections labeled by viral (rAAV) tracers and visualized using serial two-photon tomography.
Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas
Reading Resources:
Five unsolved mysteries about the brain
Can we understand our own brains? We have a long way to go, neuroscientists say.
Lein, E, et al. Nature (2007)
Genome-wide atlas of gene expression in the adult mouse brain.
Oh, SW, et al. Nature (2007)
A mesoscale connectome of the mouse brain
Open neuroscience data resources:
Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Database
A high-resolution map of neural connections in the mouse brain
NIH gene database
Information from a wide range of species
Allen Brain Map reference atlases
The Allen Institute for Brain Science has generated multiple reference atlases
Allen Mouse Brain Atlas
A genome-wide, high-resolution atlas of gene expression throughout the adult mouse brain
Allen Human Brain Atlas
A unique multimodal atlas of the human brain, integrating anatomic and genomic information
Materials
- Instructor guide
- Student worksheet
