IIT Madras creates world’s most detailed human brainstem map

In a major milestone for neuroscience, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has unveiled the world’s most detailed 3D atlas of the human brainstem. This project was developed by researchers at the institute’s Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC).

Named ANCHOR (Atlas of Neurochemical Characterisation of the Human Brainstem with 3D Reconstruction), the project was launched during the 3rd BRICS Neuroscience Symposium 2026, held at the IIT Madras campus from 5 June to 7 June. It has been made publicly available so that researchers, doctors, and patients worldwide can benefit from this groundbreaking research.

The atlas offers a unique view of the brainstem. The brainstem is a vital part of the brain that controls involuntary functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and movement. While scientists have been researching the brain for decades, the human brainstem had never before been mapped in such intricate detail.

Professor Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam said in a statement: “This is a significant scientific achievement for the Centre and will greatly boost our mission to image over 100 whole human brains across the lifespan and in the context of neurological diseases.”

Vidita A Vaidya, senior professor and co-chairperson in the Department of Biological Sciences at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), told University World News: “The brainstem houses neurocircuits that control involuntary critical functions like regulation of breathing, blood pressure, cardiovascular modulation and is also the site of several key monoaminergic nuclei that regulate movement, arousal, sleep and mood.”

ANCHOR features detailed 3D maps of brainstem structures across various stages of life—from prenatal development to adulthood. Researchers reconstructed over 200 brainstem nuclei and fibre tracts using hundreds of ultra-high-resolution tissue sections. This atlas enables scientists to study brain cells at the micron level, offering a level of detail approximately 1,000 times greater than that of standard MRI scans.

An invaluable tool for neuroscience research

Experts state that this publicly available digital atlas will prove to be an invaluable tool for neuroscience research and clinical studies. It is expected to help scientists better understand brainstem-related disorders, identify affected cell groups, and develop improved treatments for neurological conditions.

“The ANCHOR project provides the first neuroanatomical map at cellular resolution of the human brainstem at three key epochs of life spanning development and adulthood. This also allows for a detailed comparative neuroanatomical understanding of the human brainstem in comparison to that of other mammalian species,” Vaidya said.

This initiative brings together researchers from diverse fields and collaborators from around the world, integrating engineering and computer science with clinical data.

Addressing the launch event, Professor Ajay Kumar Sood remarked: “This is a major achievement in the field of neurobiology.” He noted that several medical institutions across the country assisted the centre in obtaining brains from individuals of various backgrounds and age groups for this project.

Vaidya said this project is led by IIT Madras but also has several international collaborators, revealing the power of what has been set up at the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Centre – the possibility to explore cutting-edge questions in the neuroanatomy of the human brain with the compute power that has also been built in, which will attract scientists from all over the world and from India to collaborate with the SGBC team.

“Open-access research resources such as ANCHOR are crucial for advancing international collaboration and accelerating scientific discovery,” said Vaidya.

“The open-access nature of these resources is vital as they open a new pathway emerging from the Global South on how to take on path-breaking questions in neuroscience research while keeping these resources accessible to all and facilitating collaborative research that is inclusive to scientists from all geographies,” according to Vaidya.

Major emerging global hub for neuroscience

With the launch of ANCHOR, IIT Madras has established itself as a major emerging global hub for neuroscience. Professor V Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, said in a statement that the SGBC is also studying brains affected by conditions such as rabies, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. He noted: “We now have a way by which we can determine how diseases impact the basic structure of the brain. This is a crucial first step towards understanding the workings of the human brain.”

Vaidya said that, more broadly, she sees India emerging as a significant global hub for neuroscience research.

“SGBC can lead that effort in the space of neuroanatomy by expanding into spatial transcriptomics, which will provide a hitherto unexplored understanding of the human brain overlaying molecular detail onto the cellular resolution that the mapping projects have undertaken,” she added.