Scientists uncover a hidden map of the brain with 539 distinct regions

Scientists have spent decades studying the brain's cells, connections, genes, and proteins. Yet another essential part of brain biology has received far less attention: lipids. These fatty molecules make up the membranes surrounding neurons, contribute to the myelin insulation that protects nerve fibers, and play important roles in communication between brain cells.

Although lipids are fundamental to brain function, scientists have struggled to map where different types are located. Conventional imaging techniques cannot easily distinguish individual lipid molecules, leaving a major gap in our understanding of the brain's chemical organization.

"So scientists have had only a blurry picture of how lipids differ from one part of the brain to another," says Giovanni D'Angelo, professor at The Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation Chair in Nutrition and Metabolism at EPFL. "That gap matters, because changes in brain lipids are increasingly linked to conditions from depression to Alzheimer's disease."