# RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS-NYCU Neuroscientists Illuminate the Brain’s Hidden “Star Map” of Neural Activity-National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University

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**Parent**: https://www.nycu.edu.tw/nycu/en/app/news/list?module=headnews&id=623

12

NYCU

National-Level\
Research Center

[date from 2022](https://udb.moe.edu.tw/udata/IndeX "date from 2022")

20

NYCU

University-Level\
Research Centers

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28

NYCU

College-Level\
Research Centers

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167

NYCU

Total Awarded Students\
Participating in Competitions

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379

NYCU

Number of Academic Papers\
Published by Students or Exhibition\
Activities Organized by Students

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50+

NYCU

Number of International\
Collaborations on Academic\
Research Projects

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243

NYCU

Number of Students Attending\
International Conference

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- Update Date：2025-10-08
- Units：Office of International Promotion and Outreach

NYCU Neuroscientists Illuminate the Brain’s Hidden “Star Map” of Neural Activity

*Associate Professors Tsai-Wen Chen (right) and Bei-Jung Lin of the Institute of Neuroscience, NYCU*

**Edited by Chance Lai**\
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Researchers at the Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), have developed a groundbreaking live imaging technology that can capture the electrical activity of neurons with unprecedented precision—an achievement recently published in Nature Methods under the title ***[“Imaging neuronal voltage beyond the scattering limit.](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-025-02692-5 "“Imaging neuronal voltage beyond the scattering limit.")**”*\
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Much like pinpointing individual stars in a vast galaxy, this innovation overcomes one of neuroscience’s most significant observational barriers, marking a key advance in understanding how the brain truly works.\
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**Capturing the Brain’s Electrical Universe**\
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Our sensations, thoughts, and memories arise from lightning-fast electrical signals transmitted between neurons. Yet these signals often occur deep within the brain and vanish in milliseconds, making them nearly impossible to observe directly. Traditional optical imaging techniques struggle with light scattering, resulting in blurry halos rather than clear visualizations of neuronal activity.\
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Associate Professors Tsai-Wen Chen and Bei-Jung Lin addressed this challenge by utilizing voltage-sensitive fluorescent molecules to monitor subtle fluctuations in neuronal membrane potential. They discovered that while neural signals may overlap spatially, only a few neurons fire at any given moment. By treating these sparse flashes of electrical activity as positional clues—much like astronomers mapping the flicker of distant stars—the team achieved a new level of imaging clarity.\
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**A New Era of “Activity Localization Imaging”**\
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Their technique, termed Activity Localization Imaging (ALI), enabled the researchers to observe hippocampal neurons in live mice and pinpoint the exact coordinates of each neuronal discharge. By compiling tens of thousands of such events, they constructed a high-resolution “map” of neural activity.\

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“It’s like finding each shining star in the vast galaxy of the brain,” said Prof. Chen.\
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Last year, the same team utilized an earlier version of this technology to demonstrate that certain inhibitory neurons tend to fire in conjunction with specific groups of cells—a phenomenon reminiscent of social “friend groups” within the brain’s neural network. [**(Read more)**](https://www.nycu.edu.tw/nycu/en/app/news/view?module=headnews&id=552&serno=3cafb575-8fbd-4789-b152-576e138280de "(Read more)(Open New Windows)")\
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**Revealing the Microstructure of Memory**\
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Prof. Lin noted that this breakthrough now allows scientists to distinguish even smaller and more densely packed excitatory neurons, shedding new light on the neural circuits responsible for spatial cognition and memory formation. Although the current method cannot yet detect so-called “silent neurons” that do not actively fire, the researchers believe this represents a pivotal step toward visualizing brain activity at single-cell resolution in living organisms.\
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Led entirely by a Taiwan-based interdisciplinary team and involving international collaboration, this study demonstrates the strength and long-term investment of NYCU’s neuroscience research, marking a milestone in the nation’s contribution to global brain science.\
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*The reconstructed neural activity map clearly distinguishes excitatory neurons (yellow) from silent neurons (blue).*

Related Image(s)：

- [NYCU Neuroscientists Illuminate the Brain’s Hidden “Star Map” of Neural Activity](https://www.nycu.edu.tw/nycu/en/app/news/image?module=headnews&detailNo=1425658844167540736&init=N "NYCU Neuroscientists Illuminate the Brain’s Hidden “Star Map” of Neural Activity(Open New Windows)")

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