IIT Madras Researchers Map Human Brainstem Cell By Cell in New 3D Atlas

Scientists at the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) in Chennai have built a three-dimensional atlas of the human brainstem, charting more than 200 structures at the resolution of individual cells. Unveiled during the 3rd BRICS Neuroscience Symposium held from June 5 to 7, the new digital atlas, named ANCHOR, is designed to help clinicians and researchers diagnose and treat severe neurological diseases.

The brainstem connects the brain to the spinal cord and controls vital functions such as breathing, sleep, wakefulness, and movement. Because previous maps were too vague to show precisely which cells were affected by damage, the ANCHOR atlas aims to address this gap by functioning like a "Google Earth" for the brainstem.

Using the digital platform, medical professionals can start with a standard MRI scan and zoom down through tissues and signal-carrying fibre tracts to view individual cells. To distinguish various cell types, researchers applied eight chemical dyes, known as immunostains, across several hundred tissue slices to light up specific proteins in each cell.

The atlas spans brains from the prenatal stage through adulthood and is available for free to the public at anchor.humanbrain.in.

"These maps will help identify specific cell populations affected in brainstem lesions, which could be critical for clinical applications," said Ajay Kumar Sood, the principal scientific adviser to the government of India.

The project was completed in collaboration with CMC Vellore, Government Kilpauk Medical College, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, and MediScan Systems.

Professor Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, who heads the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, stated that the team has a broader mission to image more than 100 whole brains across the human lifespan and across various neurological diseases. The centre previously released DHARANI, an atlas of the human fetal brain, in December 2024.

The new brainstem atlas could assist in studying and treating conditions that damage the brainstem, including strokes, brain tumours, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and rabies.