A Novel Brain Mapping Method without Predetermined Targets Using Hyperspectral Microscopy

Abstract

Abstract Simple and efficienttechniques to produce brain maps are required for current neuroscience research. We developed a novel pipeline called Hyperspectral Phasor Mapping (HySP-Map) to map unstained brain sections using a hyperspectral camera. Our camera can acquire 125 bands of spectral information from 380 nm − 1000 nm. The HySP-Map obtains the transmittance from the division of the background image and the sample image and applies the phasor method. The maps produced by HySP-Map for mouse brain sections were of comparable quality to existing brain maps. We also successfully applied HySP-Map to the bird brain, validating its applicability across considerably different species. Moreover, we compared the results from HySP-Map with those of existing tissue staining techniques, and it demonstrated a high degree of reproducibility. This indicates that HySP-Map may be able to visualize brain areas that have not been previously identified.