A new imaging method that offers an unprece­dented view of ­complex neural structures could help explain the workings of the brain and shed light on neurological diseases.

Interactive Tools

The three tools below and on the next two pages show data gathered in different ways from a living human volunteer. In each image, the brain is viewed from the back at a three-quarter profile, with the volunteer’s eyes pointed back and toward the right.

In this interactive tool, only the fibers that intersect a given vertical plane are shown in each still image. Visualizing only a subset of the brain’s densely packed neural fibers allows individual networks to be studied in greater detail. Users can either click on the arrow in the center of the image to view a movie that moves the plane through the brain from left to right, or they can move manually through the brain using the cursor below. Neurosurgeons sometimes use this type of visualization when searching for signs of a tumor.