Исследователи из Массачусетса создают детальные карты человеческого мозга и упрощают навигацию в реальном мире

From brain scans to paper maps, researchers explore complex worlds Massachusetts researchers and a Boston-area cartographer are finding new ways to make complex worlds easier to understand At Massachusetts General Hospital, researchers are creating detailed maps of the human brain. At home and in his office, cartographer Andy Woodruff is mapping the world in a different way. The two pursuits share a common goal: making complex spaces easier to understand. At the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Dr. Anastasia Yendiki and her team use powerful MRI scanners, advanced microscopes and artificial intelligence to study the brain’s intricate network of connections. “We don’t yet have something like Google Maps for the brain,” Yendiki said. Each brain fiber is more than 50 times thinner than a human hair, and millions of them work together. While standard MRI can provide a broad overview, researchers are working to see the brain in greater detail without surgery. That precision could eventually improve treatment for conditions including Parkinson’s disease, depression, OCD and Alzheimer’s disease. Many of those disorders affect networks of communication rather than one isolated area of the brain. “The better our map, the better we can target these connections, and the more effective the therapy will be, we hope,” Yendiki said. Woodruff’s maps help people navigate the world around them. His work combines data, design, coding and storytelling to create digital maps, paper maps, ski guides and conservation materials. “It’s about taking a very complicated world and simplifying it down to something you can understand,” he said. For Woodruff, the fascination began during childhood family trips, when he studied maps from the back seat of the car. Today, he believes paper maps still have a place in an increasingly digital world. “Maps can be a record of someone’s life,” he said.