Stanford Radio

The Future of Everything with Russ Altman Episode 135 | Mark Schnitzer: How to better understand the brain Midway through the 12-year, $5 billion nationwide “Brain Initiative,” a brain scientist explains how technology is producing profound insights into how the brain works—or doesn’t. Stanford’s Mark Schnitzer says several of the more exciting recent advances in his field of applied physics have come through developing new imaging technologies that peer into the brain as never before. What’s more, Schnitzer says the insights gained have put the world closer to solving long-vexing brain diseases, like Parkinson’s and others, where the circuitry of the brain seems to be malfunctioning. Schnitzer says that these new imaging methods are helping medical science discern the specific functions of various cells that make up the brain’s complex communications systems. No longer is the brain seen as a monolith of neurons, but instead as a complex organ made up of numerous cell types, each with its own role to play