Lab Notes | The Digital Brain: Unlocking the Mind's Virtual Twin

How does the brain work? Scientists are closer to answering this enigma with the largest wiring diagram and functional map of a mammalian brain to date. In April 2025, the Allen Institute, as part of a global team, unveiled what was once thought impossible: a high-resolution functional map of a cubic millimeter of brain, revealing both form and function. In this Lab Notes episode, the Allen Institute’s Clay Reid, M.D., Ph.D., Nuno da Costa, Ph.D., and Forrest Colman, Ph.D., and scientific collaborator, Andreas Tolias, Ph.D., explain how they created a "digital twin" of a portion of the mouse brain the size of a grain of sand and how they used artificial intelligence to digitally reconstruct a labyrinth of brain cells and wiring from 95 million high resolution images – stitching together the elaborate  architecture that underpins the "language of the brain." 

Behind every science headline, there is a human story. Hear about the scientific advancements aiming to shape the cures of tomorrow with Lab Notes: A podcast from the Allen Institute. Streaming everywhere.