Alzheimer’s disease : pushing the frontier of in vivo neuroimagining

Uncovering the role of dendritic spines in learning and memory impairments

But first, Dr. Stéphane Bancelin’s team needs to establish a new optical paradigm based on super-resolution microscopy. Leveraging on recent advances, they are developing an adaptive approach for super resolved live-cell imaging of a deep brain area based on a state-of-the-art technique called STED (Stimulated Emission Depletion) microscopy. « That’s the most crucial and trickiest part, says the researcher. MRIs, scanners and EEGs are great if you want to look at actions taking place in the brain, but they don’t provide high enough resolution to observe neurons one at a time ». Once the technique is operational, the plan is to perform chronic imaging sessions on mice with and without AD. The morphology and turnover of dendritic spine in the hippocampus will be studied and investigated with the aim of correlating structural changes with memory formation and impairment.

Uncovering the processes that govern information throughout the brain is the cutting edge of modern neuroscience. By pushing the frontiers of neuroimaging, the present project will make a significant contribution towards a better understanding of the mammalian brain, « its uniquely complex and dynamic anatomical organization, (…) like a supercomputer and the Library of Congress rolled into one », as the main investigator puts it. As for his investigation of memory formation in the hippocampus, the output aims to help earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and the identification of new therapeutic targets.