Paths of the Pyramids
With modern tools, we can see the connections formed between different types of neurons throughout the brain. Although their cell bodies may originate in one place, neurons can communicate with other neurons located elsewhere in the brain using their long axons, which look a little like pathways through the brain. This is a slice from front to back through the brain of a mouse; neurons containing an enzyme called choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) are labeled in purple, and pyramidal neurons are labeled in green.
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DownloadPaths of the Pyramids
With modern tools, we can see the connections formed between different types of neurons throughout the brain. Although their cell bodies may originate in one place, neurons can communicate with other neurons located elsewhere in the brain using their long axons, which look a little like pathways through the brain. This is a slice from front to back through the brain of a mouse; neurons containing an enzyme called choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) are labeled in purple, and pyramidal neurons are labeled in green.
What am I looking at?
These images are a series of 1-millimeter-thick slices from front to back through the brain of a mouse, with ChAT neurons (1) in purple and pyramidal neurons (2) in green. The main, annotated image shows a slice taken from about the middle of the brain.
Biology in the background
The purple neurons in this image produce a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, that’s involved in many different neurological processes, including memory, motivation, arousal, and attention. Outside the brain, acetylcholine is a major player in communication between your nerve cells and your muscles.
Pyramidal neurons are one of the most common types of neurons in the brain and are so named because of their pyramid-shaped cell bodies. These neurons are involved in a wide range of cognitive functions, including memory, movement, the processing of sensory information, and much more.
These two types of neurons communicate extensively in the brain to achieve their overlapping functions.
Neurons that produce acetylcholine vary in size a great deal; the cell bodies of the smallest ones are about 8 micrometers long, or roughly seven times smaller than the width of a human hair, and the largest are about 45 micrometers long, or roughly two times smaller than the width of a human hair. Pyramidal neurons also vary in size but on average have cell bodies that are about 20 micrometers across, or roughly 3.5 times smaller than the width of a human hair.
Technique
These images were created using confocal microscopy.
Andrew K. Recknagel, Glassy Mountain Fire Department