An NSF-funded team has developed a tool that allows brain researchers to better visualize the complex connections between neurons. Shown here is a zoomed in region of the visual cortex in a macaque brain. The tool allows neuroscientists to more easily navigate blood vessels (orange) and neurons (green).

Credit: Cameron Christensen, University of Utah

Angelucci and her colleagues used the technology to stream 3-D images of a primate's visual cortex. They paired this tool with a neuroscience technique called CLARITY, which makes surrounding brain tissue transparent. Shown here is a brain becoming transparent, thanks to CLARITY.

Credit: Frederick Federer, University of Utah

The technology known as ViSUS has been used for years in several different areas of research, including clean energy simulations on high performance computing platforms. The software processes interactively terascale-sized datasets. The typical laptop has about 4-to-15 gigabytes of memory. One terabyte has 1,000 times that much. A whole mouse brain is about 31 terabytes of imaging data. That is the same amount of data as about 32 billion digital photographs. The visual cortex of the macaque brain, which Angelucci studies, is 318 terabytes -- 100 times more.

Credit: Frederick Federer, University of Utah

There is great need for more efficient data-processing approaches as microscopes, telescopes and other instruments improve to acquire larger amounts of high-quality data. Big data tools are vital to advance understanding of the brain, universe and other topics, as evidenced by national efforts such as the BRAIN Initiative. Shown here is a portion of the macaque visual cortex shown using the ViSUS Powerwall viewer.

Credit: Vincent Horiuchi, University of Utah

Data can be explored interactively using a variety of visualization methods. Shown here is high-resolution image of a macaque visual cortex. The neurons are in a 2.5 millimeter-squared region.

Credit: Cameron Christensen, University of Utah