MindScope Research

This research program observed and modeled how the brain translates external information into electrical signals that illuminate how we respond to the external world.

To understand how incoming light from the observable world hitting our retinas leads to visual perception, and in turn, produces thought and guides behavior, this research program worked to observe, perturb, and model the flickering electrical signals that allow neurons in the brain to communicate with each other. To do this, they operated team-based Brain Observatories that measure the brain’s electrical output and made the rich data from these cellular surveys freely and publicly available.

The Allen Brain Observatory

The Allen Brain Observatory is a standardized experimental platform that takes a large-scale approach to study neurons as they fire in a living animal. Viewing this complex cascade of electrical signals sheds light on how our brains make sense of and act on visual information. Observatory experiments rely on Neuropixels probes, thin silicon probes that were developed to record the electrical signals from hundreds or thousands of neurons at once.

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OpenScope

The OpenScope program now operates within the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics. An open call for scientific discovery – OpenScope is a platform for scientists outside the Allen Institute to submit experimental proposals on brain function to carry out through the Allen Brain Observatory. Once a year, Allen Institute scientists review and select proposals, lowering barriers to testing hypotheses and bringing new talents to the forefront of neuroscience.

OpenScope Program