I am interested in understanding how our brain learns new tasks, consolidates new memories and how a decline in these abilities is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. So it is essential I understand how neurons initiate connections and communicate with one another, before I can properly research learning processes and memory formation.

I captured this image showing the growth cone of a young neuron, located in the hippocampus of a rat’s brain at a very early stage in its development, around 5 to 8 days old (in vitro). At a young age neurons seek out and connect with the right neurons by using their axons like radars, eventually forming into a complex network, designed to deliver and receive information throughout the development and maturation of the brain. 

Image Credit: Se Eun (Joanne) Jang, PhD Candidate, Anggono’s Lab, Synaptic Neurobiology Laboratory, Brisbane, Australia, in collaboration with Dr. Christophe Leterrier, Neurocyto Lab, Marseille, France. 

This image was originally posted via Instagram and is republished with permission by the Queensland Brain Institute, the University of Queensland.