Johann Danzl

SGV Meeting 2026 · Scientific Programme

CHUV, Lausanne

• 25 November 2026 · 09:05Reconstructing brain tissue at synaptic resolution with light microscopy
  Abstract

  The brain’s ability for information processing and body control hinges on the highly complex arrangement of neurons into a functional network, with each neuron typically connected to others via thousands of synapses. Deciphering the cellular architecture of brain tissue at the level of individual synaptic connections, i.e. deriving connectomes at synaptic detail, requires nanometer scale resolution, comprehensive structural contrast, and the ability to image across spatial scales. Volume electron microscopy has been the technological basis for reconstructing connectomes in diverse organisms, but obtaining molecular information is challenging and the required instrumentation is typically only available to dedicated labs. Light microscopy provides major opportunities for integrating molecular and functional information into neuronal circuit reconstructions, but has been limited to reconstructing sparse subsets of cells.

  I will discuss our recent development of light microscopy based connectomics (LICONN) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08985-1. LICONN is based on a specifically engineered hydrogel expansion technology that provides the resolution, signal-to-noise-ratio and volumetric imaging capabilities required for tracing even thin neuronal structures and for densely reconstructing tissue architecture at synaptic resolution using deep-learning methods. LICONN is directly compatible with labeling and multicolour imaging of specific molecules while imaging can proceed with standard off-the-shelf microscopes, facilitating adoption of the technology. I will highlight our recent efforts in volume scaling and increasing molecular information content toward multimodal mapping of brain tissue in a quest to access qualitatively new types of information from the biological tissue.