Can a light-sheet microscope map the wiring of a whole brain? · Grey Matter

It maps the long-range wiring and stops short of the synapses.

Can a light-sheet microscope map the wiring of a whole brain?

It maps the long-range wiring and stops short of the synapses. A cleared mouse brain can be imaged whole in minutes at a few micrometres, enough to follow labelled neurons and their projections from one region to another. A synapse is tens of nanometres across, so deciding which cell touches which needs electron microscopy at a few nanometres, the method behind the fly connectome. The two are complementary: light-sheet gives the whole organ at cellular scale quickly, electron microscopy gives every contact in a small volume slowly.