IIT Madras Brain Centre Releases World's Most Detailed 3D Atlas Of Human Brainstem At Cell Resolution
ANCHOR comprises the most comprehensive, multi-modal, 3D maps and atlases of human brainstem to date, spanning from the prenatal period to childhood and adult brains.
Published : June 12, 2026 at 8:36 PM IST
Chennai:The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has released the world’s most detailed 3D Atlas of the human brainstem through its high-throughput brain imaging and computing platform that transforms whole human brains into 3D cell-resolution atlases.
Developed by the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre (SGBC) at IIT Madras, ‘ANCHOR’ (Atlas of Neurochemical Characterisation of the human brainstem with 3D Reconstruction) comprises the most comprehensive, multi-modal, 3D maps and atlases of the human brainstem to date, spanning from the prenatal period to childhood and adult brains, according to a release.
These maps encompass more than 200 brainstem nuclei and fibre tracts, reconstructed from hundreds of serial sections. To resolve distinct neurochemical cell types, eight complementary immunostains were overlaid across more than 500 sections, enabling detailed mapping.
The researchers have made ANCHOR publicly available through the website - https://anchor.humanbrain.in – to ensure that this cutting-edge research benefits researchers, clinicians and patients around the world.
SGBC aims to build the most comprehensive set of cell-resolution human brain maps across lifespan and diseases. This Centre has become a truly global interdisciplinary team featuring more than 200 researchers, engineers and technicians working with 20 collaborators from different countries.
ANCHOR was released during the 3rd BRICS Neuroscience Symposium 2026 held from 5th to 7th June 2026 at the IIT Madras campus. The event brought together leading neuroscientists, clinicians, academicians and researchers from BRICS nations.
ANCHOR was released in the presence of Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, who was the chief guest at the event. Shri Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, Infosys, who has provided significant support to SGBC, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras and Prof. Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, Head, SGBC, were also present along with industry leaders, donors and philanthropists who support the Centre besides researchers from across the world.
Addressing the event virtually from Delhi, Ajay Kumar Sood said, “This is a significant accomplishment in the field of neurobiology. This is a multimodal framework integrating MRI, histology and detailed chemo-architecture. It will be the most detailed and comprehensive maps of the human brainstem and will be made available publicly in digital form. These maps will help in identifying specific cell populations affected in brainstem lesions, which could be critical for clinical applications.”
Sood said, “This is another milestone achieved by SGBC at IIT Madras after it had released ‘DHARANI’ last year. An important feature of SGBC is that it has been a multi-institutional, multinational and multi-disciplinary endeavour with the support of the Government, industry and philanthropy."
"The Centre has become an exemplar of research and innovation through collaboration and a diversified support system for long-term sustainability. The centre is a unique example of how risk-taking by a public agency led to an advanced technology platform for doing big science, and that was then scaled by private and philanthropic support to produce world-class results in frontier areas of human brain sciences," he added.
Further, Ajay Kumar Sood said, “Another noteworthy feature to talk about the collaborative aspect of this project is that various medical institutions in the country such as CMC Vellore, Kilpauk Medical College, MediScan Systems, Shri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research helped the Centre to acquire brains of different types and ages for this project.”
Congratulating the SGBC on their work, V. Kamakoti, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “I always take pride that at IIT Madras we are exploring a lot of things, but this particular exploration puts IIT Madras in the frontiers of the most complex creation that this world has witnessed - the human brain. This Centre is also studying brains affected by different diseases like rabies, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. We now have a way by which we can say what happens to the basic structure of the brain due to diseases. This is a very important first step in understanding what happens in the human brain.”
Congratulating the entire team of SGBC on the successful release of ‘ANCHOR’, IIT Madras Distinguished Alumnus Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder, Infosys, said, “I laud the researchers for all the hard work and the effort that has gone in from conceptualisation of this Centre to now releasing such detailed brain maps and making it fully public. I hope this will make important contributions to neuroscience in the world. In India, we have the awareness of affordable science and affordable technology because ultimately technology must serve society and the people. Accessibility, affordability and inclusiveness are very important.”
Prof. Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam, Head of SGBC, IIT Madras, said, “The key technology platform that makes these atlases widely accessible is our multi-modal image visualisation framework that seamlessly integrates macro-scale volumetric data with micro-scale cellular images."
"By establishing precise spatial correspondence across these modalities, the atlas enables a seamless transition from gross brain structures in the MRI to cellular-level features. We envision that these maps and atlases will have significant implications for neuroscience and neuromedicine. This is an important scientific milestone for the Centre and is a big boost as we pursue our mission of imaging over 100 whole brains across the human lifespan and neurological diseases," Sivaprakasam added.
Independent Experts Opinion
Addressing the event after the ANCHOR launch, Prof. Shubha Tole, Distinguished Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) said, “We are now seeing a thriving, flourishing and visionary program that puts India at a seat at the international table and leads the way in examining the human brain and studying its intricacies in a depth that could not have been imagined. We are also seeing the confluence of people from engineering, neuroscience and medicine, coming together seamlessly. We see it as one Atlas, but clearly, it reveals an integration that is unprecedented and so rewarding to see.”
Taking part virtually in the event, Prof. Mu-Ming Poo, Scientific Director, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, “The choice to release the first Atlas in the brainstem is very important and a wise choice in this effort. I am particularly impressed with such rapid progress of the Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre in IIT Madras on the Human Brainstem Atlas. It is the beginning of a long journey."
"The brainstem is very important to the human body. It is the connection between the brain and the spinal cord and for all our motor movements. It also controls very important aspects such as physiology, how we awake, how we sleep and how we breathe - they are all controlled by centres in the brainstem," Prof. Mu-Ming Poo said.
Prof. Poo further said, "I am also amazed by the perfect marriage of basic neuroscientists, clinical neuroscientists and the engineering and computing talents in India that has made this achievement possible. This is a good example of interdisciplinary work that we all try for in brain science. I am sure we will be seeing more work coming out from this platform.”
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